Christie B. Nickels, of Moscow, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024, in Boise. She was 82.
Christie was born to two schoolteachers, Lamont and Edna, in Los Angeles on Sept. 29, 1942. After graduating from Western High School in Anaheim, she attended Long Beach State College where she studied art history. She then joined the Women’s Army Corps, becoming a sergeant in the Signal Corps. She later successfully completed Officer’s Candidate School, rising to the rank of captain.
While continuing to serve in the U.S. Army, she met and fell in love with the love of her life, Ronald, who was also a U.S. Army officer. They were married in 1971, and began a life-long adventure that took them from Germany to Hawaii and everywhere in between, and which gave them three rabble-rousing boys who were a constant source of joy and consternation. After receiving an honorable discharge from the military, Christie continued her public service in raising those three boys as a homemaker.
Christie and family moved to Moscow in the mid-1980s. She continued her public service through volunteering at a local food bank and as a census-taker. She also continued to pursue her passion for art, creating innumerous works in metal, paint, charcoal and other mediums. Christie also dearly loved animals, whether they were her indoor cats or her outdoor squirrels and birds. She also was a diligent researcher of the family genealogy, tracing the family lines back several centuries, and even visiting the ancestral family farm in Norway.
Christie was preceded in death by her husband, Ronald, and her son, Donald, whose memories she treasured. She leaves behind a legacy of love and memories which are cherished by her children, Bryan (Robin) Nickels and Ernest (Delma) Nickels, and her grandchildren, Eddie, Abby and Christian.
A private family service to honor Christie’s life and mourn her passing will be held on Friday, Jan. 3, at the Moscow Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that a donation be made to the Humane Society of the Palouse.
Short’s Funeral Chapel of Moscow is in charge of arrangements and condolences may be left at shortsfuneralchapel.com.
