Vernita Linda Nickell

Vernita Linda Nickell, 84, of Columbia entered into eternal rest on Friday, Jan. 28, 2011, at University Hospital with her family by her side.

Funeral services conducted by the Rev. Tracy Cook will be at noon Saturday, Feb. 5, at First Assembly of God, 1100 N. Seventh St. in Columbia. Visitation will be one hour before the service at the church. Burial will be at Mount Tabor Cemetery in Atlanta, Mo.

Vernita was born on May 12, 1926, on a farm outside of Alfred, N.D., to the late Gotthelf and Margaret Henne Kurtz. She went to a country school five miles away by horse and buggy. She graduated from high school in Jamestown, N.D., and attended nursing school in Jamestown during World War II. On July 14, 1951, she married John Nickell in Randolph County, Ark., and he preceded her in death Aug. 2, 1974.

She worked as a nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital in Jefferson City as well as served as director of student health services at Lincoln University. She raised her children in Jefferson City and then moved to Kansas City in 1993 to be a more active participant in her grandchildren’s lives. In 2009, she moved to Columbia.

Vernita is survived by her son, Greg Nickell and wife Angela; her daughters, Glenda Nickell and husband David Williams, and Karen Nickell and partner Neil Hockley; as well as her grandchildren, Alyssa Rootes, Devin Nickell, Drew Nickell, Jake Nickell, Sarah Hockley and Sean Hockley.

She also was preceded in death by a daughter, Connie Nickell Mairose; six brothers, William, Wilbert, Clifford, Freddie, Edwin and Johnnie Kurtz; three sisters, Delila Beyer, Edna Conrad and Esther Reich.

Her love for people, especially her family, permeated everything she did. She always stood up for people less fortunate while believing strongly in being self-reliant.

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