Della M. Nickoll Podell

Della M. Nickoll Podell, 92, passed away on November 12, 2004 in Santa Monica, CA. Born Della Milgrim on February 6, 1912 in Chicago to Russian émigré parents, Morris and Sophie Milgrim, Della was the oldest of three. Her sisters were Usona (Uki) and Harriet.

While attending the University of Illinois, where Mrs. Podell earned a degree at the Columbia School of Speech, she met her husband Gerald Nickoll. The two lived in Milwaukee where Mr. Nickoll was the founder of Civic Finance. The couple had two sons, John, founder of The Foothill Group in Los Angeles and Kenneth, a teacher also in Los Angeles.

Mrs. Podell had a keen interest in art and architecture. She and her husband Gerald Nickoll designed and built an innovative home with noted Milwaukee Architect William M. Wenzler. The modernist home overlooking Lake Michigan at 6530 N. Lake Drive in Fox Point, Wisconsin was profiled in the July 16, 1965 issue of Life Magazine. The couple traveled all over the world and furnished their Fox Point home with furniture they had commissioned on a trip to Copenhagen. Mrs. Podell was a much-loved Den Mother, took art classes at Cardinal Stritch College, was an active member of Congregation Emanuel, a longtime supporter of the Milwaukee Art Museum, and played golf at Brynwood Country Club.

Mrs. Podell's first husband Gerald Nickoll passed away in 1975.

In 1977 Mrs. Podell married Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Ralph Podell. After Judge Podell retired, the couple split their time between Milwaukee and their home in Florida. Judge Podell passed away in 1992.

Mrs. Podell helped several relatives leave Soviet Russia, including her cousin Natan (Anatoly) Sharansky. Sharansky was a Soviet dissident and is currently an Israeli Cabinet Minister under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Sharansky also served as former Israeli Deputy Prime Minister, a former Israeli Prime Minister of Housing and Construction and a former Israeli Prime Minister of Industry and Trade.

In 2002, friends and family gathered at her son John's home in Los Angeles to celebrate her 90th birthday. Mrs. Podell spent her final years in Los Angeles.

Mrs. Podell is survived by sons, John (Patty) Nickoll and Kenneth Nickoll; grandsons Benjamin (Chrissy) Nickoll and David (Leigh) Nickoll; great grandchildren Sophie, George, Eli and Annabelle; nieces

Helen Heineman (Peter Haje), Laurie Heineman (Ron Millican) and Skylark Carol Heineman, Marjorie Winters (Bruce Fowler); great nieces Annie, Yulan and Lily; great nephew Kent; cousins Penny Nickoll, Fenya Tsalis, Alla (Joseph) Kotlyarsky and Gene (Linda) Kotlyarsky; step-sons James (Peggy) Podell, Richard (Penny) Podell; step-grandson Todd (Lisa) Podell and Jimmy Rucker; step-granddaughters Laura (Ilker) Bizer, Elizabeth (Steven) England, Tasha (Aaron) Tilock, and Kimberly (Marc) Friedman; and great step-grandchildren Garrett, Harris, Alex, Kaan, Tolga, Riley, Benjamin and Andrew.

Memorial Services were held in Los Angeles. Family members shared stories and offered loving tributes of their beloved matriarch. In memory of Della M. Nickoll Podell, donations may be made to the Milwaukee Art Museum, 700 N. Art Museum Drive, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202.