Mary Catherine Barnes Nicodemus

1935 - 2025

Mary Catherine Barnes Nicodemus, 89, of Dunwoody, passed away peacefully at home on October 28, 2025. Mary was blessed to be a blessing to her family, friends, church, and community. Born on December 17, 1935, in Albion, Nebraska, to J.B. and Valma Barnes, she was a devoted wife, mother, sister, and grandmother whose quiet strength and kindness touched everyone she met.
Mary grew up on a family farm and in the Albion United Methodist Church. She remained firmly grounded in Midwestern values and a strong faith throughout her life. At Albion High School, she played the saxophone and was a cheerleader. Her senior yearbook photo was captioned, "She was born with the gift of laughter."
Mary met the love of her life, J V. "Nick" Nicodemus, during their first week at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln. She later graduated from Bryan Memorial Nursing School, earning her RN degree, and married Nick on September 22, 1957. They shared 67.5 wonderful years together until his passing this past March.
Graceful, strong, and endlessly giving, Mary devoted her life to her family and community. She spent decades volunteering in her children's schools, at church, on sports teams, through Camp Fire Girls, and in Northside Hospital's Chaplain Services.
She cherished her DNDC women's group, whose members played bridge and tennis together for more than 20 years and continued gathering twice a year for luncheons - most recently just one month before her passing.
Mary found joy in needlepoint, cards, bingo, and cheering on the Atlanta Braves, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and Georgia Tech football. She especially loved watching The Masters every spring.
She is survived by her five children: Jim, Bill (Karen), Nancy, and Tommy Nicodemus; and Tammy (Michael) Boswell; eight grandchildren: Casey, Keegan (Marybeth), Kirk, Luke and Sarah Mac Nicodemus, Melvina James, and Henry and Will Boswell; and seven great-grandchildren: Wilder, Ezra, Shepherd, and Judah Nicodemus, and Marleah, Kimora, and Julianna James. She is also survived by her brother, Dick (Penny) Barnes, and several nieces and nephews.
Mary was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Nick; her parents; her sister and brother-in-law, Ginny and Don Johnson; her brother, John Barnes; her nephew, Darin Barnes; and her in-laws, Marci Jo and Gary Lambert.
The family extends heartfelt gratitude to Renee Critten and her I'd Rather Be Home Homecare team for their loving care and compassion over the past four years.
A memorial service will be held at Chamblee First United Methodist Church on Friday, December 5, 2025, at 11:00 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Dunwoody Preservation Trust (https://dunwoodypreservationtrust.org/) or Chamblee First UMC (https://chambleeumc.org/).