Obituaries
In Loving Memory of Webster James Nicol
Volume 33 Issue 10, 11 & 12 | Posted: December 20, 2019
Webster was a gentle loving man who was born in Vancouver General Hospital November 1, 1943, to Mary and Alexander Nicol. He was the baby to Five Sisters: Carrol, Glenda, Francis, June and Maureen. Webster’s father always wanted a son and was elated when he was born.
Webster grew up with his Five Sisters and learned from them how to respect and love women unconditionally. He allowed his hair to be tampered with and his nails to be painted. Web was taught patience at a young age because of his sisters and the phrase “I’m almost ready.” This served him well with the wife and daughters he eventually had.
Webster was a gentle loving man who was born in Vancouver General Hospital November 1, 1943, to Mary and Alexander Nicol. He was the baby to Five Sisters: Carrol, Glenda, Francis, June and Maureen. Webster’s father always wanted a son and was elated when he was born.
Webster grew up with his Five Sisters and learned from them how to respect and love women unconditionally. He allowed his hair to be tampered with and his nails to be painted. Web was taught patience at a young age because of his sisters and the phrase “I’m almost ready.” This served him well with the wife and daughters he eventually had.
Web met Gloria in Vancouver through a friend when he was 25 years old. They were young and in love in this led to many memories and adventures together. However when Mom discovered that she was pregnant with Webster’s baby, he was scared. Since Webster was not ready to become a father yet, he told Mom to gift their first born to another family. When baby Janis arrived on December 14, 1969, dad got the chance to see her, but Mom could not for she knew if she held beautiful little Janis, she would not be able to let her go.
Soon after the birth of Janis, Webster and Gloria separated. Gloria went to spend time in Winnipeg with her sister Mary and brother Ed, while Webster did some soul-searching. Web soon discovered that he could not live without his Gloria, so he travelled to Winnipeg, found a job and began taking Bible studies. When Gloria saw that he had a change of heart, she decided to commit the rest of her life to Webster James Nicol and they were married on September 19, 1971. Three years later, Shelley was born into their family, Renee came a year after Shelley, and Janelle arrived a year after Renee. Dad and mom often wondered where their first born was and started the process of finding her after they moved to Vancouver Island. In 2015, to daddy’s delight, his entire family was reunited in Kelowna for the first time ever. They were now complete! Webster was pleased to learn that he had two more grandchildren, Josie and Connor, and welcomed them into his life happily along with his three other grandchildren.
It was evident that Webster loved his daughters with his entire soul. Web always wanted girls and got his wish. If any of his girls would cry during the night, he would gently lay them on a pillow. Then he would walk up and down the hall for hours until they fell asleep. Web never became impatient. Instead, he would make his rounds until all his baby girls were sleeping peacefully before going to bed.
Webster would use vocabulary that was so unique that the average person would need a dictionary to understand the meaning. Web would kill in Scrabble and got a kick out of being challenged. Nothing may be more proud than proving his opponent wrong with his trusty resource, the Webster’s Dictionary. To this day, Scrabble is a staple in our family.
Web cherished the Lord above anything else. He did his best to live up to the word of God. His faith would not be shaken. He loved nothing more than discussing scripture and his heart swelled with pride whenever his daughters would recite the Ten Commandments to anyone that would be willing to listen.
Webster was a man of few words, however a person would always know when he would leave or enter a room. Schizophrenia is a sad and unfair illness that Webster suffered from most of his life. He never chose it, but made peace with what he was given and so did the ones that loved him the most. Webster wanted to be treated like everyone else and he did exceptionally well with the hand he was dealt. While Web had no choice but to deal with his mental illness, he handled it better than most and lived a fulfilled life with his family and friends. One day, we will meet him without any afflictions and there is a comfort knowing his next reunion with his family will be different, no longer in a fog, but in clarity and wholeness of mind.
Webster’s inner strength and need to protect and care for his family was fierce until the end. He passed away in the early hours of the morning while sleeping peacefully on Monday August 12, 2019. He will always be admired, loved and cherished forever by his family and many friends.