Name: Memorial Gathering for Thomas Eugene Nyquist
Start: 2019-12-28T19:00:00.000Z
End: 2019-12-28T21:00:00.000Z
Location: Tom and Corinne's home

NEW PALTZ- Thomas Eugene Nyquist was born June 20, 1931 at home on a wheat farm and cattle ranch homesteaded by his parents, northeast of Froid, Mont. He lived through the Depression and the Dust Bowl, rode a horse to the one-room Hammond country grade school, and graduated valedictorian of a class of seven in town.He had big dreams, and headed to college planning to major in journalism. But after serving in the army on Okinawa during the Korean Conflict, and traveling to Japan and Taiwan, he returned to study political science at Macalester College in Minnesota. There he met his bride and subsequent wife of nearly 63 years, Corinne, who was studying International Relations. He went on for a Masters at the University of Montana, Missoula, worked two years as a social worker, then finished with a PhD in African Studies at Northwestern University in Illinois.Tom pursued his PhD research in rural Sudan during its civil war, with wife and kids in tow. After graduation, a Fulbright Scholarship took them to Apartheid South Africa for 18 months. The family moved to New Paltz, N.Y., in 1968 where Tom became a professor of African Studies at the State University of New York in New Paltz, and later an administrator at SUNY Central in grants development.Tom had a strong desire for a life of meaning lived for society and mankind. He served on then chaired the New Paltz Village Planning Board and the New Paltz Police Commission, was elected to the Ulster County Legislature and the New Paltz Village Board becoming Deputy Mayor, Acting Mayor, then elected Mayor for four four-year terms.As Mayor he was concerned with infrastructure, but also livability. He oversaw construction of miles of beautiful brick and stone sidewalks, and brought into being three of the four current village parks: Hasbrouck Park, Sojourner Truth Park, and the Rail Trail. He maintained his international interests by forming a sister city relationship with Niimi/Osa, Japan, and by hosting a delegation from the USSR. He expanded and developed the Peace Park.Tom also served on the boards of the YMCA, Ulster Performing Arts Center, Wallkill Valley Rail Trail, Historic Huguenot Street, and was a member of Rotary International and the Paltz Club. On the Board of the International Partnership for Service Learning he and Corinne traveled to the Czech Republic, Ecuador, England, Jamaica, Mexico, and the Rosebud Indian Reservation, S.D. Tom and Corinne were founding members, and on the Executive of the New York African Studies Association, and Tom co-edited its newsletter for nearly 50 years.In (semi)retirement Tom authored a subscription newsletter on grant opportunities for community colleges which he transitioned to a free on-line newsletter he maintained until he was 87 years old.He and family formed the Tom and Corinne Nyquist Foundation in 2004 using the yearly income off the inherited wheat farm in Montana to give small grants to deserving charitable groups in New Paltz and the Froid area which have included funding for benches, gardens, trails, theatre, archery, books, and less sexy necessaries like copy machines, doors, and roofs. It also funds scholarships and an essay contest in Montana.When a small oil lease on the Montana property came to fruition, Tom and Corinne used proceeds to purchase the Nyquist-Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary in New Paltz which Tom maintained nearly single-handedly for the good of the people of New Paltz and the satisfaction of a job well done. He took his last walk to check the sanctuary the day he died.Finally, Tom was a wonderful family man known to brag about his kids and granddaughters to any listener, and who called his brothers and cousins at least weekly.Tom is survived by his wife, Corinne (Johnson) Nyquist; son, Jonathan Nyquist (Laura Toran); daughter, Lynn Nyquist (John Nyquist); and granddaughters Amy, Jenna, Katie, and Megan. He was predeceased by his brothers, Dick Nyquist (Fran) of Detroit, and Bob Nyquist (Ruth) of Bainville, Mont., and his parents, Richard and Lydia (Billie) Nyquist.Memorial Services will be Sat., Dec. 28, 2019, at 4:30 p.m. at the Reformed Church, 92 Huguenot St., New Paltz, followed by a reception in the Fireside Room in the church’s Education Center. The service will be proceeded by an open house at Tom and Corinne’s home at 140 Huguenot St. from 2 to 4 p.m. that afternoon. Food or beverages to share are welcome at both events. An internment Service will be held July 18, 2020 in Froid, Mont.In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Nyquist Foundation/Nyquist-Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary, Historic Huguenot Street, or the Wallkill Valley Land Trust. Donations may be made directly, mailed to or dropped off with Corinne Nyquist at home, or left in envelopes which will be provided at the church. http://www.lastingmemories.com/thomas-eugene-nyquist

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Published by the Daily Freeman from Dec. 14 to Dec. 15, 2019.

Memories and Condolences
for Thomas Nyquist

Sponsored by dailyfreeman.com.

2 Entries

Kevin Hickey

December 23, 2019

From the Immediate Past President of the New York African Studies Association:
Dedication.
That was Tom Nyquist.
And smiling.
As Tom became hard of hearing but continued to attend NYASA Executive Board meetings, he would ask us to repeat what we had just said, and then he would cup his ear with a wide grin on his face. Most of us would be cranky because of our poor hearing and the need to ask people to repeat themselves. Tom may have also been cranky, but it looked like he was having the time of his life.
And I think that Tom probably was having the time of his life. He showed us how to live. He showed us what it is like to commit to something. In 1968, Tom was a founder of the SUNY African Studies Faculty Committee which in 1971 became the SUNY African Studies Faculty Association which in 1973 became The New York African Studies Association.
At our most recent (September 2019) NYASA Executive Board meeting, Tom and wife Corinne were in attendance in their fifty-first year of service to our organization. At that meeting, Tom told me that up until our 2019 conference, he had missed attending only one conference. Only one. In addition to near perfect conference attendance and probably fifty years of near perfect Executive Board meeting attendance, Tom Nyquist was President of NYASA from 1981-83, and he edited The NYASA Newsletter for 42 years.
Tom was dedicated to NYASA, and it should be with his spirit that we carry NYASA through the remainder of this century. Tom was a lover of Africa and its cultures, but I think this only partly explains his commitment to NYASA. Tom was also a lover of the world and its people, and his dedication to making our world a better place was surely also a part of his steadfast commitment to NYASA because although NYASA is an organization dedicated to all things African, it is also an organization dedicated to making the worldall of ita better place.
We know that right before Tom died, he walked in a blinding snowstorm to visit New Paltz's 56-acre Nyquist-Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary created by Tom and Corinne's Nyquist Foundation. After this, he returned home and shoveled snow (it was not only a heavy snow but the eighth-biggest snowfall on record).
Thus, Tom's final hours were dedicated to the public space: to the sanctuary of nature and to the clearing of snow in the village that he had been the mayor of from 1987 until 2003. I imagine that there was not only a smile on Tom's face as he walked to his wildlife sanctuary but also a smile on his face when he stood up and took a break from shovelingsnowflakes twirling and glittering about him as if in a parade or as if ascending through the clouds to that special abode for people who dedicate themselves to making the earth its own kind of heaven.

Brenda Hicks-Hush

December 12, 2019

Sending our condolence and prayers to Corinne and the family. We are saddened to hear of Tom's passing. Tom was an amazing man who lived his life to the fullest. His love and generous spirit to his family, friends and community will be greatly missed. My husband and I were blessed to have Mayor Nyquist, marry us in Peace Park in New Paltz many years years ago.

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