NICKELS, MARILYN

NICKELS (Wenzke),

Marilyn

Marilyn Wenzke Nickels died peacefully early on Sunday, September 19, 2021, in the company of family from complications of glioblastoma. Affectionately known as Betsy to her family, she lived life in fullness as an educator, historian, loving spouse, and devoted mother and grandmother.

Born in Dayton, Ohio, on May 10, 1942, she attended Holy Angels School and graduated from Julienne High School in 1960. In the eight years after entering the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, she graduated from the College of Mount St. Joseph-on-the-Ohio (1964) and taught English, American literature, journalism and drama on the high school level. In 1968 she moved to the Washington, D.C. area to attend The Catholic University of America where she met Kenneth E. Nickels; they married at St. Stephen Martyr Church in Washington, D.C. on October 9, 1971. Marilyn earned a Ph.D. in American religious history in 1975, publishing a dissertation on the 20th century racial justice movement in the American Catholic church.

After teaching courses in American religious history at Catholic University, Marilyn had a long and fulfilling career in public service with the federal government. She began her civil service career as an Education Specialist for the Bureau of the Census during the 1980 decennial census, and subsequently worked on behalf of the American public at the Department of the Interior. There, she held positions in the Office of the Secretary (Equal Employment Opportunity), National Park Service (National Capital Parks-East and National Register of Historic Places), and Bureau of Land Management (Manager, Cultural and Fossil Resources and Tribal Consultation programs). She received the Department's Meritorious Service Award in 2000 for her outstanding contributions to research, management, and preservation programs overseeing the vast cultural, paleontological, and historical resources held in trust for the American people. In particular, she was acknowledged for advances in Civil War battlefield preservation, management of the Department's extensive museum properties, relationships with State Historic Preservation Officers, and the development of a formal Departmental paleontology program.

She was not silent in the face of injustice and bigotry toward oppressed people, advocating formally and informally for racial minorities, women, and LGBTQ people. In retirement, she compiled, edited, and published in 2018 the memoir of her mentor, "From Sharecropper to Scientist: The Memoir of Thomas Wyatt Turner, Ph.D. (1877-1978)."

In recent decades, her passion for University of Maryland sports blossomed as she became an ardent supporter of Terrapin football, basketball, and soccer teams.

Marilyn is survived by her husband Kenneth, children RJ (Gina) and John (Anna); grandchildren Jude and Noam; siblings Jerome (Nancy), James (Ellie), Frank (Kathleen), Janet Pettry (James), Robert (Ruth), Edward (Joyce), Stephen (Gillian), and Teresa; as well as her cousins Thomas (Debbie) and William (Carla) Thornton. She is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her brother Eugene, her sister Margaret, and her parents Frank and Rita Wenzke.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a private gathering for immediate family will be held in Silver Spring, Maryland on Friday, October 8 at 10:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Marilyn's memory to Johns Hopkins

Kimmel Cancer Center at hopkinscancer.org. Memories and condolences may be shared privately at WeRememberMarilyn@gmail.com, or posted publicly at

www.collinsfuneralhome.com/obituaries

Sign the guestbook at Legacy.com