Merry Ann Nickerson
December 4, 1942 – August 11, 2023
Merry Ann Nickerson, 80, a longtime resident of Vista, CA , died on August 11th in Calabasas, CA due to complications of Alzheimers and Dementia. She was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee on December 4, 1942, to Louis and Calva Swanson.
During her childhood years, the Swanson family moved frequently, living in Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Oregon, and California. Merry attended six different high schools in six different states, ultimately graduating from Huntington Park High School in California.
It was in Huntington Park that she met and married Douglas Nickerson and started her family. A move to Vista, California soon followed. Merry loved being a wife and mom and poured herself into raising her two rambunctious sons. Following a divorce, she enrolled in college while also working full time to help support her family. She would go on to graduate in three years with a degree in business administration with a minor in gerontology. Merry’s career as an administrator of retirement and convalescent hospitals lasted 20 years. She excelled at her career, having a passion for working with the elderly, and received recognition and awards for her work in the field.
In her later years, Merry spent much of her time traveling, volunteering, gardening and being involved with her church and book club. However, her family always came first, and she devoted much of her time to her four grandchildren.
Merry is survived by her sons Russell and Andy, daughters-in-law, Laura and Heidi, and grandchildren Kyle, Megan, Joshua, and Carter. The Nickerson family requests any memorial gifts to be sent, in Merry’s honor, to Operation Hope in Vista, California (www.operationhopeshelter.org). This homeless shelter was a place she volunteered and felt deserved the community’s support.
