Mary Nickels

Mary Nickels, passed away November 6, 2021 at the Cottonwood Place.

There will be a visitation at McKown Funeral Home on Wednesday

November 10, 2021 from 5-7 p.m. A private family burial will follow.

Mary Nickels was born March 31 1924 in Henderson, Nebraska, to George

and Katherine Rempel.   Henderson was a community first settled by

descendants of Dutch Anabaptists who'd lived for about 250 years in the

Vistula delta in Poland and established the Molochna Colony in the

Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine) and Mary's grandparents were

first-generation American citizens. Early settlers were assisted by the

Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad in obtaining land and

building homes and her father operated a cream station on the railroad

for many years.    Mary grew up speaking Plautdietsch, the Low German

dialect that had evolved in the Mennonite community, as well as English

and German which were taught in school.   She is preceded in death by

her parents, two brothers, Henry (Hank) and George, son-in-law, Duane Otte,

and her husband of 68 years,  Bobby E.  Nickels.

After graduation from high school, Mary attended York College and

obtained a teaching certificate and taught in one-room rural schoolhouse

south of Bradshaw, Nebraska.   The memories of her years as a

schoolteacher were cherished.    She answered the call for war workers

after WWII broke out, making ammunition at the Naval Ammunition Depot at

Hastings which produced 40% of the naval munitions used during the

war.   She and Bobby met and became engaged in December 1945 as he was

enroute to the European Theater and were married in Henderson soon after

his discharge in 1946.  They were married April 19, 1946 in York,

Nebraska where they lived until moving to Columbus in 1968.    She is

survived by two children, Robert Nickels of Freeport IL and Mary K.

Otte of Columbus.

After moving to Columbus, Mary returned to school in one of the first

classes at Platte College (now CCC) and began a 10 year career with the

Columbus Public School system as a media aide, providing

audio-visual materials for teachers.    She retired in 1984 and enjoyed

many years at home in Columbus until she moved to Cottonwood Place in

2015.  She and Bobby were very active in local and state veterans

organizations, and Mary was a past president of the VFW Auxiliary and

held many other positions over the years.  At Cottonwood Place, Mary

was known for her collection of Christmas nutcrackers and Wizard of Oz

memorabilia, a movie that made a lasting impression on her as a girl,

teaching that "there is no place like home".