Beverly Ruth Nickell

Beverly Ruth Nickell

February 20, 1939-December 22, 2020

Today we mourn the loss of our Mother, Beverly Ruth Nickell, the only surviving child of Floyde & Mattie "Pete" Nickell. Born in Lancaster, CA, the family moved to San Diego, CA when Beverly was very young. She grew up in San Diego active in Job's Daughters & attended Mission Bay High where she was active in Madrigals & choir & voted "Prettiest Eyes" in her senior class of 57. This is where she met her husband of seventeen years, Richard Nelson. They married shortly after high school & had three daughters, Alice (Jones), Jill (Silver) & Leah Nelson.

Beverly was adept at everything she laid her hand to. Never shying away from hard work, she could do & did everything in her life from cosmetology, bookkeeping, substance abuse counseling (earning her Associate's Degree after her girls were grown) & building a house. But her passion was flowers & the art of floral arrangement. Her knowledge of horticulture was vast & she appreciated the beauty that nature brought to our world. Friends & family alike always called on her for her expertise in making all things beautiful for their weddings, their new home, and their lives.

She found her way to Bakersfield, CA after her marriage ended. Bakersfield being the home of her retired parents & extended family. She raised her girls & many other kids as well. Caretaker that she was, she knew when someone needed a safe place & she was never one to turn away. And it was during this time that she met Bobby "Bob" Ingram & she was with Bob for almost twenty years, living in Bakersfield & Porterville, CA until Bob's death.

As an only child, she assumed the role of caretaker to her aging parents until their deaths. She never wavered from this responsibility & when her job as caretaker was done, she moved back to San Diego until her own health demanded that she be closer to family that could assist her. At that time she came back to Bakersfield where she's been for many years.

Back in Bakersfield she never lost track of what her oldest & dearest friends were up to, Mary Jane, Marihelen, Nancy, Carolyn, etc. But along the way she made new friends as well. She loved her monthly luncheon group & cherished each one of these lady's company.

She loved traveling, something deeply ingrained in her by her family. As a toddler, she visited Mexico with her grandmother & was unable to return home for many months due to fallout from the end of the Mexican Revolution. As an adult her travels were much more uneventful, having traveled throughout Europe with her daughter Leah & finally seeing Kauai with her family for her 80th birthday, but oh, so memorable nonetheless. She was always ready for a trip & spontaneity was her middle name.

You never expect someone like Beverly, who's so vivacious, to be gone. And those of us left behind are shocked by her passing but determined to exalt her memory to all that will listen to the tales of her wonderful, beautiful, eccentric life. We are Alice (Kenny) Jones, Jill (John) Silver &Leah Nelson. Grandchildren, Erin (Darrin) Wedeking, John Broyles, Courtney (Jeff) Geer, Jessi Silver & Alec (Lucy) Silver, Shannon (Jeff) Swayze. Great grandchildren Ian (Haley) Wedeking, Evan Wedeking, Britton Canalez & Weston Geer. Friends & family alike will keep her memory alive & as our world opens up once again & we're able to celebrate Beverly in the manner befitting the amazing woman that she was, celebrate we will. Stay tuned world, she's not done yet!

To leave a message for the family or share a memory of Beverly, please go to www.bashamfuneralcare.com/obituary.