of Little Rock, AR
October 5, 1922 - August 9, 2018
Mary Ann Budde Nichols, age 95, passed into eternal rest on August 9, 2018.
Beloved wife of the late James Burke Nichols. Predeceased by her loving parents, Joseph Budde and Regina Timmerman Budde. Dear mother of Pat (Richard) Sahr, Peggy Stringer, Pam (the late Tom) Herrington, Jim (Sandy) Nichols, the late Janet Harknett (Peter), Kathy (Bob) Judson, Bill (Maria) Nichols, and Mike (Kelley) Nichols. Dear grandmother of Aaron, Ben, Dorothy, Ruth, Jamie, TJ, Michael, Robert, Allison, Jay, Amy, Nick, Shannon, Max, Matt, Eric, Alex, Maggie, Janet, Sam, Emma, and Lila. Dear sister of Joseph Budde, the late Thomas Budde, the late Sr. Gertrude Budde, and Jane Budde Wuesthoff. And long time, devoted friend of Margie Payne and Bobbie Fazio.
After Jim's death, Mary Ann became active in many civic projects and was also a generous donor of time and money to several causes. Among them are Meals on Wheels, Our House, Arkansas Children's Hospital, CARTI, and Christ the King Catholic Church.
Accomplished in most areas of needlework, Mary Ann sewed many of her children's clothes, stitched blankets for new grandchildren, crocheted afghans for everyone in the family, and knitted hundreds of caps for infants in NICU.
Mary Ann was an avid, life-long reader who learned to use an IPad when her eyes deteriorated. She was famously known to say: "Don't say you're bored if there's a book in the house."
Mary Ann was a sports enthusiast all her life. She rooted for the St. Louis Cardinals from the time she was a member of the Knot Hole Gang in the 1930s right through most of the 2018 season. Throughout her life, she was interested in sports both as a player and a spectator.
Mary Ann was most proud of her 8 children's, twenty-two grandchildren's and fifteen great-grandchildren's accomplishments. She never forgot what anyone was doing at any given time, and was especially proud of all their educational achievements.
I met Mary Ann at church and joined a lunch group she was in and enjoyed always being with her.
Mary Ann was one of the dearest, kindest person I have known.
Always a smile on her face and always so positive.
When she entered Fox Ridge retirement village I so wanted to visit but a slight stroke has kept me home the past 10 years.
I read the obituary two days late and realized I had missed the vigil/funeral.
I also found her maiden name was Budde which is also my late grandmother's maiden name. Wish I had known so I could find out from Mary Ann about her Budde family.
Will someone from the family please contact me.
The funeral home has my information.
She so loved her family and many friends.
Love to all the family.
May her soul through the mercy of Christ, rest in peace.
Dear Nichols Family,
I was so sorry to read about Mary Ann. She was such a special lady. I spoke to her shortly after I moved to LR many years ago. She and Jim were dear friends of my parents Bill and Jean Jordan. They all shared some of the best times during their careers at Southwestern Bell.
Cherish your memories. I know they were some great ones.
Blessings to you all.
My sincere sympathy,
Nancy Jordan Sink
I have many wonderful memories of Mary Ann’s Volunteer work at CARTI. We also took a wonderful trip to NYC at Christmas.
What an amazing and inspiring woman. What a big loss for your family. May peace be with you.