Clarice Jean Nickerson, 83, a resident of Sedro-Woolley, passed away on Sunday, February 23, 2014 at United General Hospital.
Clarice was born on August 2, 1930 to Bernard and Lucille (Henry) Fitzgerald in Langford, South Dakota. Clarice moved to Burlington, Washington with her family when she was 15 years old. She was married to the love of her life, James Nickerson, on April 2, 1949. As he says, their nearly 65 years together, “were not nearly enough.”
Clarice was a wonderful cook, spending many years making meals for students in the Sedro-Woolley School District until her retirement in 1988. Following retirement, she traveled, camped and enjoyed her grandchildren together with her husband, Jim. Clarice was a passionate supporter of the Cubs wrestling team and spent time as a member of the Concerned Citizens group, lobbying for the continuation of United General Hospital when its permanent closure was threatened. She will be remembered for her sense of humor and her strong will. Clarice was a loving wife, mom, grandmother, great-grandmother, friend, and will be greatly missed.
Clarice is survived by her husband, James Nickerson of Sedro-Woolley; Daughter, Linda Dixon of Snohomish; Granddaughter, Kristin Cortés and her husband, Christopher of Snohomish; Grandson, Kevin Dixon and his wife, Jenny of Lake Stevens; Great-grandchildren, C.J. (9), Gabriel (6) and Isabella Cortés (3), and Kaden Dixon (8). She was preceded in death by her parents, Bernard and Lucille Fitzgerald; Brother, Eugene and Sister, Lora Lie (Bea).
A Graveside Service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 1, 2014 at the Greenhills Memorial Cemetery in Burlington with Pastor David Hodgin officiating. A reception following the service will be held at Max Dale’s Steak & Chop House, 2030 Riverside Drive, Mount Vernon. Viewing is available from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 9:00 a.m. to noon on Saturday at the Lemley Chapel in Sedro Woolley. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made in Clarice’s name to the United General Hospital Auxiliary, 2000 Hospital Dr. Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284.
I was the secretary at Clear Lake when Clarice was the cook.
She loved the kids and her cooking showed it.
She was always eager to give the kids extra’s.
I enjoyed taking and working with her.
Peggy Suryan
We will always cherish our memories of camping with Clarice, Jim, Martin, Marie and Mom & Dad at Twisp> Clarice always kept things lively around camp
The Nickerson Family: This goes back a long way, but I have fond memories of Mrs. Nickerson as a cook at school during the 50’s and 60’s. I also remember all the fun we have when Linda and I were in “Tiny Toppers” together. What a blast!
You guys were wonderful friends of Mom and Dad for many years. I remember stories about an apartment in Burlington in the 40’s and years of Mother and Clarice working the school together. From our hearts to yours
The Ireland’s
When our children were young we were neighbors of Jim and Clarice and Linda sometimes baby sat our children . The Nickersons were tremendous neighbors and Clarice and Barb often had coffee together. Clarice was a kind and generous person with a crazy sense of humor. She never let Barb forget when she ran over the garbage can and drug it down Sterling Drive. One of Clarice`s favorite sayings was “When the —-hits the fan around here” when she was emphasing some point in her coversation. Clarice`s memory occupies a very high spot on our list of wonderful people. Even though our children were very young when we were neighbors they
remember in a very positive way and they send their condolences to Jim, Linda and family
Jim, I enjoyed the time I spent with you and Clarice. I will never forget it. Clarice is a very special person. Please lean on your many family and friends in this difficult time and in the years to come. God Bless you.
Jim and family, our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with you during this trying time. Clarice is a very special lady and will be missed by many, many people.
Jim, our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. May time heal the wounds that the loss of Clarice
brought to your family. Our sympathy to you and your family
Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family in this time of sorrow.
Clarice has always held a special place in my heart. She was the cook at Clear Lake Elementary when I first came to this school 30 years ago. She was not a happy person when I first came here but with a little loving kindness and complements on her cooking she made a 180 turn around. She was a terrific cook and her cooking sucked me in – I have a special place in my mid-section that I have dedicated to her cooking. I’ll never forget her homemade ranger cookies just to name one of her many homemade things she did. As I said, she whittled out a special place in my heart – another “grandma in combat boots” if you know what I mean. She loved the kids and they loved her cooking!
I’ll never forget the day I was taking my kids to do PE and I smelled the most wonderful smell coming from the kitchen. I went downstairs and asked her what that smell was – not meaning it in a negative way. She barked at me and said something like, Does something stink? I said no, I smelled something wonderful. She replied, “It must be the cookies, that’s the only thing that MIGHT smell good coming from this kitchen.” Well, those cookies called to me. I took school lunch for the very first time ever that day and she gave me TWO cookies. I remember going into the staff room and Dave Woolen who was a retired Navy man and the 6th grade teacher at the time growled out a comment, “How is it you got two cookies and all I got was this sorry excuse for a cookie crumb.” I suggested that he might try giving her a compliment on her cooking. He said, “She never cooks anything good”. I replied, “She must make something good because you have been eating school lunch every day since I came to this school.”
Well, the next day Dave came into the staff room and had a tray heaped with whatever was on the menu that day. I asked him how he did it. He laughed and said, “I tried what you said, told her I liked her ____ (whatever it was) and she gave me a double scoop.” He was pretty proud of himself for getting two scoops. From then on every teacher who took school lunch came to the staff room with a healthy serving of food on their tray. I suspect they also applied the good compliments to a wonderful cook.
Just before she retired she told me that the last 5 years of her career had been the best 5 years of her career.
I tend to think it’s because people started recognizing her for the good cook she was.
I also loved her humor and her false gruffness. She would often get into it with Beryl Lynch who was over the cooks in the district. Many were the times when Beryl would run for the door while Clarice threatened with a rolling pin or a pan or just her words. Yes, Clarice made a huge impression on me. Many mornings I would go to the kitchen just to say hello and walk back to my classroom after being taught a bit of her wisdom. She is missed!
Our thoughts and prayers are with you as you experience this great loss.
Clarice is someone who could always put a smile on your face. She dearly loved her family and was always so proud of them. Our sympathy to Jim, Linda and the family.