Pauline Nicholson

Pauline Iles Nicholson passed away on Tuesday, June 8, 2015, at the age of 93. She was the wife of the late Philip W. Nicholson of Ellis, Kansas, and the mother of three children, all of whom survive her: Paulette (Nicholson) Harp and Jack A. Nicholson, both of Ellis, and Philip T. Nicholson of Boulder, Colorado. Her descendants also include six grandchildren and six great-grand-children.

Pauline was born in October 29, 1922, in a mining town in eastern Arizona. Her father, Louis Taylor Iles, worked as an accountant at the Inspiration Copper Mine, and her mother, Marguerite (Childress) Iles, worked at the company store. The family lived in Inspiration, a small, company-owned town on the top of a mountain ridge that overlooked the mine operationsthe huge open pits, the large smelters that heated the raw ore to separate out the molten copper, and the trolleys that ran out along banks of dark black slag to dump molten waste products.

After graduating from the Miami High School, Pauline entered the University of Arizona where she majored in nutrition. World War II intervened during her junior year when Pauline met a young lieutenant, Philip W. Nicholson, who was stationed at an air base in Tucson. The couple became engaged and then married just before Capt. Nicholsons crew embarked for India and then flew on to China to carry out bombing missions against the Japanese forces. The couples first son, Philip Taylor, was born in 1944, shortly before the end of WWII. After demobilization, Capt. Nicholson and Pauline returned to Ellis, Kansas, his home town, where they established a residence and expanded their family. A second son, Jack Alexander, was born in 1948, and a daughter, Paulette Iles, in 1950.

As a wife and mother, Pauline created a warm family atmosphere that combined affection, intellectual stimulation, a sense of engagement with broader world, kindness and tolerance, perseverance, and attention to those little things in life that ultimately add up to make a big difference for everyone involved. She was a great cookwho can forget the taste of her authentic enchiladas and her other recipes, dinner-in-the-dish, roast chuck with carrots and potatoes, homemade sweet rolls and raisin cream pie? And Pauline was known as an excellent conversationalist, as someone who listened carefully to what someone was saying and then asked insightful questions. When tragedies intervened in the lives of others, she was always ready to respond promptly and effectively, as on the two occasions when she welcomed children whod suddenly and tragically lost one or both parents into her home where she cared for them as she would her own. Pauline will always be remembered by her friends and by her children and grandchildren with the greatest love, affection, appreciation, gratitude and respect for a life well-lived.

A memorial reception on June 20th, 2015 from 3:00 - 5:00 pm at 1807 Maple St, Ellis, KS (2 blks east of Ellis High School)

In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift to Hospice in memory of Pauline Nicholson, c/o Keithley Funeral Chapel, 400 E. 17th St., Ellis, KS 67637.

Condolences may be left by guest book at www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com or emailed tokeithleyfuneralhomes@gmail.com











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