Mary Elizabeth Nickel, 86, lived a long, full life rooted in the places and people she loved. Born in Amarillo, Texas to her mother, Nancy and father, Murray L. Holcomb. Mary’s early life was disrupted when Nancy and Murray divorced. Her mother remarried and the family now consisted of her mom, her stepfather, Wallace L Stricklin Sr, and brother, Wallace L Stricklin Jr. Her father was awarded custody of Mary and he and his family attempted to gain custody of Mary chasing the Stricklin family for years. During this time the family was forced to move frequently, often in the middle of the night. She had nightmares featuring fears of losing or forgetting possessions frequently and recently.

She and her family eventually found stability and moved back to Amarillo in 1952. Mary attended Elizabeth Nixson Jr High School where she excelled academically. She joined the marching band (blue uniform with gold trim, clarinet), marched in two parades and played the flute in orchestra. She also excelled as a baton twirler. Mary graduated from Amarillo High School in 1957 joining the AHS marching band (gold with black trim) and marching in many parades. Mary loved band and was very proud of her band experience.

When her family moved to Tacoma, Washington after her stepfather found work at Boeing Mary stayed in Texas where she enrolled as a freshman at North Texas, Denton the fall of 1957. After her freshman year she moved to Washington and enrolled at Central Washington College as a sophomore in 1958. Mary graduated from CWC with a BA in music and education in 1961. After graduation she moved to Yakima where she taught at Terrace Heights Elementary in Yakima for the next four years.

She moved back to Puyallup in 1965 where her family now lived and soon found employment with the Puyallup School District in charge of library programs at two elementary schools, Spinning and Meeker.

Mary met her future husband Gale B. Nickel at a September dance in Renton, Washington. She and her friends from work often went to the “Thank God It’s Friday dances” for Gale it was his first and only time. They met and danced and found they had something in common, Gale attended Meeker Elementary as a child and Mary was ME librarian. They discovered they both lived in Puyallup, liked to dance and knew some of the same people.

A few weeks later after buying a brand new 1966 Chevrolet Impala SS Mary and some friends tracked down Gale who had told her he lived on Freeman Road. She then called him and invited him to a party she and some friends in her Apartment building were planning. Gale says she sounded a bit breathless/nervous and he readily accepted her invitation somewhat nervously himself.

They hit it off and became a pair from then on. They announced their engagement on February 12,1967 and were wed in Puyallup’s Methodist Church on March 18, 1967.

After marrying they settled in Sumner, where they bought an old 19th century farmhouse on 3/4 acres where they lived for the next 25 years building a home and raising their son, Brian. It was during this time that Mary learned to can fruit, make apple cider, and became a skilled apple and walnut pie maker because their Sumner home had five apple trees, one bartlett pear tree, one Italian prune tree, two cherry trees and two English walnut trees.

One of Mary’s greatest legacies was participating in saving the home of Puyallup’s most famous pioneer, Ezra Meeker. She and Gale embarked on this adventure when they attended a meeting one evening in the fall of 1971. The owner of the Meeker Mansion, Dr King, had retired and closed the nursing home that he’d owned and managed there. He sold the land to an adjoining business owned by Jack McConkey. Dr King then donated the building to a group known as the Meeker Historical Society. He thought the mansion could be moved to the nearby Pioneer Park which had been donated to the city years ago by Meeker.

Dr King was a bit naive when it was discovered that every descendant of Meeker would have to agree to that move. Gale and Mary spent the next year completely absorbed in leading the effort to save the old building. They became members of the board of Directors, Gale as President and Mary as Publicity director, the most important role in promoting and publicizing the effort to raise the $35,000 needed to repurchase the land. She, Gale and the other members of the Meeker Historical Society became friends and succeeded in Saving the Meeker Mansion.

For their efforts Mary and Gale were voted as citizens of the year 1971/72 by the Puyallup Elks, BPOE #1450 in 1972. Today the Puyallup Historical Society is still going strong, the Mansion is now completely restored and efforts are now moving on to a grand plan to raise 10 million dollars to build a museum complex for the Puyallup Valley centered on the original Meeker property.

After 25 years living in Sumner Mary and Gale embarked on a new chapter together, designing and building a home in the Arletta Hills neighborhood in Gig Harbor. They lived there for another 30 years, creating a warm and welcoming place filled with family stories, laughter, and the scent of Mary’s famous pies cooling on the counter. Mary joined a choral group which performed in various venues around the community. Mary loved to sing and joined the Choir at Cogir.

Mary had a wonderful sense of humor and a gift for storytelling. She loved to share funny memories from her life, turning ordinary moments into tales that made others smile. Her ability to find humor in the everyday was one of her most endearing qualities.

She also found deep joy in gardening. Mary loved being outdoors, tending to her plants, and especially “pulling weeds,” as she liked to say. It was a simple pleasure that grounded her and brought her peace.

In their final chapter of life Mary and Gale moved to Cogir, an independent living community in Mill Creek, where they could be closer to their son Brian and daughter-in-law Katie and their two Grandchildren Aviva and Jason and to begin yet another chapter together, surrounded by new friends and family.

Mary is survived by her husband, Gale Nickel; her son, Brian Nickel; her grandchildren, Aviva and Jason; her brother, Clyde Stricklin, her sister, Merida Bowes, and niece Katie Ann Bowes. She leaves behind a family who adored her, a lifetime of stories, and a legacy of warmth, humor, and love.

Her presence will be deeply missed, but her spirit lives on in the memories she shared, the gardens she tended, and the family she cherished.

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