BAR MILLS / RALEIGH, NC – Betsy E. (Nason) Nickerson, age 81, passed away peacefully at Rex Hospital on November 13, 2018, following a brief illness.
Betsy was born in Gorham, Maine, on August 8, 1937, the daughter of Harold Nason and Blanche Valliere. After graduating from Buxton High School, Betsy worked at Houghton-Arnold Machinery in Portland. There she met the love of her life, Clair “Nick” Nickerson. They wed on Christmas Eve in 1955 and were married for 62 years, 8 months, and one day.
In 1967, Betsy and Nick bought Winnisquam Beach Campground in Belmont, NH, and successfully operated the business until retiring to Florida in 1985. Betsy then went to work for the Ft. Lauderdale City Prosecutors Office, Pompano Beach Police Department, where she was awarded the Citizen of the Year Award and Broward County Sherriff’s Office. Ultimately, Nick and Betsy moved to Youngsville, NC, to be near their youngest grandchildren.
Betsy was a loyal churchgoer and was active in her local congregations, including Sanbornton Congregational Church in Sanbornton NH, Boca Raton Congregational Church in Boca Raton FL, where she and Nick were Deacons and New Hope Christian Church in Louisburg NC. She also served for many years as a volunteer adult leader with the Girls Scouts and Boy Scouts of America at the Troop and District levels. She won the prestigious Silver Beaver award for distinguished service from the Boy Scouts of America.
She is survived by her daughters Kim Bossey and her husband Robert, Kris Jasany and her husband Scott, and son Kyle and his partner Merry Ann Ellithorpe. She was predeceased by her husband Nick, and her daughter Kelly, then-wife of Charles Brazzo. Betsy is survived by six grandchildren; Jon, Margaret, Kathryn, Michael, Ryan, and Meagan; two great-grandchildren, Piper and Deacon; and many nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital (www.stjude.org) or a charity of their choice.
A funeral service will be held on Tuesday November 20 at 1PM at the Chad E. Poitras Cremation and Funeral Service Chapel, 498 Long Plains Road in Buxton.
Burial will follow at South Buxton (Tory Hill) Cemetery.
Rev. Allison Curry will officiate.
Arrangements are with Chad E. Poitras Cremation and Funeral Service, Buxton
www.mainefuneral.com