Tom Nicholas, Death Notice May, June 2024

A Classmate of mine from Merchantville High School, class of 1963, just e-mailed to tell me that an old friend had died. Tom Nicholas. Tom was actually the best friend of my ex-husband, Mike Schelpat. They were friends from their teen years and stayed close over their entire lives.

Tom would have been about 80. He died behind the wheel of his vehicle, which I seem to think was a pick-up truck, but it wasn't an accident. Apparently he pulled over; he must have felt something going wrong, maybe a heart attack? A stroke? Anyhow, I can't help thinking this is the way he would have wanted to end it.

Tom was a brilliant man, an artist who graduated from what was then Philadelphia College of Art, now the University of the Arts. He was a painter but I think his real art was in domestic architecture because he built exquisitely beautiful cabins in the woods of upstate New York where he went to live as a young man and stayed until he died. My ex-husband and I often went to stay with him during the 1970's, in the beautiful forests where he built his cabins. I remember two of them very well, a large roomy one story where he lived with his then partner whose name I thought I had forgotten but I just remembered, it was Sheila. She worked for a group home for teen girls. At that first cabin, the spacious one story, we would sit and smoke pot and I would weave baskets from the shed bark of the white birches that fell all over the woods. It is a beautiful bark, white on one ide and a creamy peach color on the other side.

Tom was a wonderful artist and I remember him making graceful and delicate botanical drawings of plants and leaves from the forest. We three often hiked in the woods and I remember one time we crossed a rocky fast moving stream and I found a perfectly spherical redish colored rock, perfectly smoothly round. I still have it.

In his youthful college days, Tom lived in Powelton Village, Philadelphia, with a wonderful woman named Elaine Simon, whom he jokingly nicknamed Nomis, and they had a dog named Alice. I don't remember any longer what took Tom to the deep woods of Schuyler Falls, above Plattsburgh, but I think it may have been an art teaching job at Plattsburgh college. Anyhow, once he got up there, he never came home.

Tom and I went to the same high school, Merchantville. He probably graduated in 1961. He was two years older than I am, roughly. His sister, Joanne Nicholas, married a classmate of mine, Ron Williams. Joanne was two years younger than I am and it is her husband, my classmate Ron Williams, who got in touch and told me about Tom's death. Joanne had been worried about him for years, worried that he didn't take care of his health and that he didn't have anyone nearby if something should happen. Tom died on Friday, May 17th, and I have no idea who found him. His dog, Brutus, who was in the truck with him, was taken to the pound, sadly.

Each year at Christmas, I would receive a hand made card with a lovely pencil drawing on it and a haiku poem. Tom loved to write haiku poems. I would send him a card as well, but we never really conversed that much and we NEVER telephoned one another. After all, he wasn't so much my friend as my ex-husband's friend, and they kept in touch regularly. I only saw Tom once in the 40 years since I got divorced, and that was when he was down visiting his siter and Ron, and picking up a case of wine (as he told me) because it was so much cheaper down here! He also sent me some photograph of elegant and beautiful furniture he had made. He was gifted.

It is an all too common experience for me now, the death of people I knew, grew up with, was friends with. In another May, I lost my best friend Christine Borget (Gilbreath) and last month a classmate, Romeo Ventura. These are all writing on the wall, but what can I do about it except enjoy my life as much as possible and try to live as healthy a life as possible, which I do. >p/> Meanwhile, my heart goes out to those closest to Tom, my ex-husband Mike, his best friend, and his sister Joanne, who loved him and worried about him. As for Tom, I think he died the way he would have wished to die, driving down a country road in the woods with his dog, but I think he should have made better provision for his dog. I just called my brother Joe to remind him that he said he would take my dog if I died and he said he would take all my pets, dog and cats. Also my hope is my sister would move in here and take care of them. I should write a letter with that stipulation, giving my sister living rights to the house so she could take care of them. I feel sadest for poor Brutus who was Tom's loyal friend and ended up in the pound.

I am glad my memories of Tom Nicholas are from his younger and healthier days because I have heard he had descended into dementia in his last years. I remember him young and talented.

I hope wherever he is, it is a good place.

wrightj45@yahoo.com

Jo Ann