NANCY NICHOLSON DRISCOLL

DRISCOLL
NANCY NICHOLSON
Nancy Nicholson Driscoll reached her final summit in life on February 2, 2016, with her devoted husband, Tom by her side and her loving family holding prayerful vigil. Her spirit was set free that day with the winds of deep love carrying her. Born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania in 1950 to parents, John Edward "Jack" and Jane Porter Nicholson, Nancy was the youngest of three including brother, Jeffrey and sister, Sally. She spent her childhood in Bethel Park, PA, graduating from Bethel Park High School. Summers at the ocean sparked Nancy's love for swimming. She was a natural athlete from an early age! She loved the swim team. Nancy was 16 when her mother died and she and Sally were nurtured by a friend, Susan who eventually became their sister-in-law and a treasured lifelong friend. As a young woman, Nancy traveled alone cross country to move to the west coast. She met Tom Driscoll in 1980. In 1984, they moved to Watsonville, CA to start their 17 year partnership in farming strawberries for Driscoll's. They married in 1985. What an adventurous life they created together. They moved to Mt. Shasta, CA in 2001 and fell in love with the land, the people and the beauty surrounding them. It was in Mt. Shasta that Nancy found her true home in spirit and nature. She took great pleasure in being a steward of their land. Nancy ran marathons, bicycled across the country and was an avid mountain climber. She did treks in Nepal and Tibet to remote villages where she assisted teams providing medical treatments to the people there. Nancy was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Jeff. She is survived by her husband, Tom. The love and affection they shared was abundantly clear to everyone who witnessed them together in the last months of her life. Tom was so dedicated to her care. He says Nancy taught him about the deep tenderness of love. She is also survived by her sister and close friend, Sally, with whom she shared a very special sisterhood and her most beloved nephew, Joshua, a physician, who was instrumental in Nancy's care in the last period of her life, spending weeks in Mt. Shasta supporting Nancy and Tom. Joshua, his wife Elizabeth, and their daughter Abigail Nancy were a source of great joy to Nancy. She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Susan Nicholson; stepdaughter, Darby; and grandson, Tyler, in whom she took great pride. She loved being Grammy Nan! Nancy's dear friend, Rosanne Reiter shared countless travels and much laughter with her over the years. Nancy was a good friend to so many people around the world. Hers is a legacy of love, friendship, healthy living, dedication to the earth and service to its peoples. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to KidPower, P.O. Box 1212, Santa Cruz, CA 95061 or The Breast Cancer Fund, 1388 Sutter St., Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94109. And in Nancy's honor, you might take time to get outside, look around you, take in the beauty you see, feel the love of your family and friends and fill your heart with gratitude. That would make Nancy smile.