Beverly Jeanne Nickelson

Beverly Jeanne Nickelson, 78, of Portage, MI, passed away at 3:23 p.m. Friday, August 5, 2016, at Fountainview Assisted Living in Portage. Beverly was born in Benton Harbor, MI, on May 23, 1938, a daughter of Frederick and Laverne (Stafford) Graham. On July 21, 1954, in San Diego, CA, she married Harold Henry Holtkamp Jr. She later married James Melvin Nickelson in San Diego, CA. She was a homemaker for years and later worked in the kitchen of an area nursing home until she retired and moved to Kalamazoo, MI. She was a Christian by faith and was an avid animal lover. Beverly is survived by one daughter, Dorothy Lee (Larry) Jeffrey of Mexico, MO, and two sons, William David (Lisa) Holtkamp of Florence, AL, and Harold Henry (Jean) Holtkamp III of Ashland, MO; 3 granddaughters, Destiny Dawn (Shuck) Chilton of Jefferson City, MO, Ashley (Holtkamp) Walls of Oklahoma, and Sierra Cheyenne Parenti of Columbia, MO; 4 grandsons, Gary Allen Shuck II of Jefferson City, MO, Todd Millard Holtkamp of Florence, AL, Jonathan Holtkamp of Oklahoma, and Justin Dean Parenti of Columbia, MO; 4 step-grandsons, Benjamin and Dalton Jeffrey of Mexico, MO, Russell Jeffrey of Columbia, MO, and Matthew Whisman of Florence, AL; 3 great-granddaughters, Shyla Chilton and Emily Shuck of Jefferson City, MO, and Kabri Walls of Oklahoma; one step great-granddaughter, Chloe Jeffrey of Mexico, MO; 3 great-grandsons, Chase Shuck of Jefferson City, MO, and Zane and Zeth Holtkamp of Florence, AL; and 6 step great-grandsons, Gabriel and Neo Jeffrey of Mexico, MO, and Gage, Jesse, Codie and Noah Whisman of Florence, AL; one brother-in-law, Basil Van Linder, of Kalamazoo, MI; one sister-in-law, Kay Graham, of San Diego, CA; and numerous nieces and nephews. In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents, one infant son James Holtkamp, 3 brothers, Wesley (who died in Pearl Harbor), Ernest and Hank, and 3 sisters, Thelma, Norma and Dorothy. There was no visitation or services as her wish was to be cremated and her ashes scattered over the ocean.