Marion G. (Gallant) McNicholas

Marion Georgiana Evelyn Gallant McNicholas will be laid to rest along side her beloved husband, James Robert McNicholas, in St. Patrick Cemetery, Watertown.

Marion was born on June 10,1925. Over the years she has garnished several nicknames. As a child she was "Little Marion" due to the fact that her mom shared her name. In her middle age, her son started calling her "B" and family members began buying her bee trinkets and treasures.  She is now a beloved Nana and Gigi and these names made her heart smile.

She was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts and was raised in the Catholic faith. Her heritage includes relatives from England, Ireland, Scotland and France. Thanks to a 23 and Me DNA test, she discovered that she is also part of the Mi'kmaq Indian tribe from Prince Edward Island. As a child she would visit their grandmother's farm in Canada each summer.

Marion was a native English speaker but she was proud of the Conversational French that she had learned in high school. She lived in Dorchester, Braintree and Watertown, all in Massachusetts. In the past six years she had stayed with family members in Concord and Windham, NH.

Despite not going to college, Marion was a lifelong learner.  She enrolled in many night classes and became an expert in cake decorating, sewing, hat making and woodworking. There seemed to be nothing that she was afraid of doing. Marion was an avid reader and visited the local library weekly. She was also adept with numbers. She worked at a bank and a credit union in Watertown. Personally, she balanced her checking account to the penny every month. Marion was always proud of her service in WWII. As a young woman she helped the troops at home. Marion took great pride in her family. She was the sweetest person her children and grandchildren will ever know.

Marion married James Robert McNicholas on September 20, 1947. Her husband was a college graduate and a returning soldier. They met as employees at Sears and Roebucks and were married for over 56 years when James passed in 2003. He was a very popular high school English teacher and golf coach.

Marion and James had three children, nine grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. She made each of them smile with her delicious meals and world famous whoopie pies.

She is survived by her children Diane Bonica of Tualatin, OR, Peter McNicholas of Nottingham, NH, and Marion Alberico of Windham, NH. Beloved grandmother of Ashley, Adam, and Andrew Bonica, Matthew, Kathleen, Jenna, and Sarah McNicholas, Mari and Corey Alberico.

Marion and James loved to travel to Bermuda and Florida. They vacationed with several friends and golf was a reoccurring pastime for the husbands while the wives enjoyed the warm weather, beaches and shops. They also visited Hawaii, Utah, Oregon and Cape Cod.

Marion loved to celebrate!  She planned for every holiday and life event but her family believes that she was a pro at April Fools. She spent many a day planning the tricks that she would successfully orchestrate on her family. She was also Silly Santa for many Christmas Eve dinners and her family has warm memories of her funny gifts.

The Lawrence Welk show was a weekly event in her home. Even when the show was long off the air, she would watch reruns and enjoy them as much as the originals. She also watched Murder She Wrote and the Hallmark Channel movies. Marion was also a game player. She loved Scrabble and was practically unbeatable!  She also played Bridge and Uno and Skip-bo. Every generation has learned these games from her.

Marion had a poem on her fridge that told us that "can't is a quitter". She always believed that you had to do the hard work to succeed. Our Marion has been a force for good and happiness in all who love her. She was our rock and our joy!

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic all funeral services for Marion will be held privately.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Marion's name to Compassus Hospice Care, 1 Hampton Road, Suite 210, Exeter NH 03833

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