Natalie Nickerson Paine

Paine, Natalie Nickerson
Died peacefully in Santa Fe on March 25,2003 after a long illness. Natalie (pronounced Natahli) was born November 14,1922 in Phoenix, AZ. to William Allen and Vivian Young Nickerson; raised in Prescott and Scottsdale, she graduated high school and moved to NYC to seek her fortune at the age of 17, becoming a top fashion model. In 1946, she and Eileen Ford co-founded the Ford Modeling Agency, which became the largest in the world, and in 1953 she founded Plaza Five Agency, which under her direction became the second largest. She married photographer Wingate Paine in 1949, and continued with her career in the fashion industry until the 1960's, when she began serving as Director of Medical Research for a non-profit Foundation dedicated to detoxifying heroin addicts, a position she held until the time of her death. She is survived by her son Wingate H. Paine II and wife Jody, her daughter Jennifer Paine Welwood and husband John, her grandchildren Bogar Phillips, Naomi Paine, and Wingate H. Paine III, her nephews Allen Nickerson and David Sherman and her nieces Twink Brown and Kay Thomsett, as well as many beloved cousins. She asked that the following be included in her obituary (author unknown): Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there, I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow; I am the diamond glints on snow: I am the sunlight on ripened grain; I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the morning's rush of quiet birds in circled flight, I am the soft star that shines at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry; I am not there, I did not die. A memorial gathering will be held at the family home on Saturday, March 29, 2003, in Santa Fe, NM. Arrangements are under the direction of Berardinelli Family Funeral Service, 1399 Luisa Street, 505-984-8600.