Grace Margaret Nixon, 98, of Red Bank, passed away July 26, 2022, in her own home with her two loving daughters at her side. She was born June 16, 1924, in Jersey City at the iconic Margaret Hague Hospital, and was raised in her beloved Jersey City by her loving parents, Garabed and Virgin Nakashian.
Grace married William George Nixon Jr. (1922-1968) in 1943 just before he went to serve in the European theater in World War II with the 527th Bombardment Squadron. After the war, the couple were blessed with two children, Cynthia (born in 1946) and Penny (born in 1951).
In 1955, the family moved “down the shore” – first to Middletown, then Atlantic Highlands –before Grace settled permanently in Red Bank. She worked at the Fair Haven Pharmacy for many years and was a founding member of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Middletown, remaining active in her church for over 60 years.
A pillar of the community, Grace was always a friend to so many she encountered in her long life. She was an incredibly well-loved and well-respected woman who welcomed everyone into her home and her heart. Despite her busy life, she somehow managed to be there for everyone; to her countless friends, both old and young, she was known most simply as “Aunt Grace.”
An incredibly strong, vibrant and independent woman, she loved to cook and entertain friends, which she did tirelessly – even at the ripe old age of 96 – until the start of the pandemic. Grace always had a smile on her face and she loved having “a lotta laughs.”
Grace Margaret Nixon is survived by her daughters, Cynthia Nixon Bouker of Fernandina Beach, Florida, and Penny Virginia Nixon of Los Angeles, California; grandsons Jon Stenman (Kerrie Briggs) Bouker Jr. and Christian William (Andrea Henry) Bouker; great-grandchildren Katherine Anderson Bouker, Jon Stenman Bouker III; and step-grandson Spencer Henry Moore. She also is survived by her brother-in-law Robert (Joan) Nixon, many nieces and nephews, and the countless friends she made throughout her life’s journey.
She was among the last of the “Greatest Generation,” and one of the last of her old Jersey City gang of friends to pass. We know they were all waiting patiently to welcome her home.
There will be a celebration of life Sept. 2 at noon at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 92 Tindall Road, Middletown.
In lieu of flowers, donations to her church would be greatly appreciated.
The article originally appeared in the August 11 – 17, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
