JoAnn Nivison

Jo Ann (Williams) Nivison, of Winslow, comforted by the warmth of her family, supported by the love of her husband of 65 years, John A. “Jack” Nivison, and strengthened by the Sacraments of her faith, died peacefully on October 25, 2022. She was 87 years old.

Born the fifth of seven children (and the only daughter) to the late Guy J. and Pauline (Deschesne) Williams on March 21, 1935 in Fort Fairfield, Jo Ann and her family withstood the hardscrabble years of the Great Depression through the support of two pillars: their Catholic faith, and their large, extended family. When tuberculosis took the life of Guy Williams in 1940, the family leaned on these pillars. And when the economic prospects of the area turned following the Second World War, threatening to break the family up, Pauline Willams moved her family to Waterville, where a cousin had lined up a job that would permit her to support her children. Jo Ann would learn well from her mother’s example of resilience and grace.

Jo Ann entered Waterville schools, graduating from Waterville High School in 1953. Around that time, through mutual friends, she met Jack Nivison. Married at Sacred Heart Church in Waterville on June 22, 1957, they lived for a time in Waterville before moving into the Nivison family home at 4 Bowden Street, Winslow, in 1963. There they forged a partnership for the ages, raising seven children, hosting countless holidays and celebrations, and providing a true homestead for their children and grandchildren for more than half a century.

Jo Ann was active in the life of St. John the Baptist Parish and School, where her children matriculated. She served on the school board and was a founding chair of the St. John’s Christmas Fair. After a time, when her children reached school-age, she became the childcare provider for a generation of young children of Winslow area teachers, providing a warm environment filled with play, creativity, and lots of cookies.

In 1980, she began work as a teller at Waterville Savings Bank, starting a seventeen-year career that would see her rise to the position of head teller. Ever the caregiver, she took in her mother for several years following a series of medical setbacks, until her needs demanded more regular care. Following her retirement, with customary determination, focus, and joy, Jo Ann took up the game of golf, becoming a member of the Waterville Country Club and a regular player in its Ladies’ Day outings. In her retirement, she also served on the Board of the Winslow Community Federal Credit Union.

Blessed with boundless energy and optimism, she was unsparing in her love and generosity toward her grandchildren. Nowhere was this more true than in “Nannie’s kitchen,” where batch after batch of meals, snacks, and baked goods of all varieties were always at the ready as children of all ages and appetites breezed through the homestead.

In her final years, Jo Ann settled into a routine of family visits and walks around the grounds of Winslow’s schools and athletic fields with Jack. Fixtures at Winslow sporting events and eager for a conversation wherever they went, they were rarely without a story to tell or a smile to give. As Jo Ann began to suffer the effects of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, Jack embraced the role of primary caregiver with selfless charity, ensuring her health, safety, and comfort until her passing. They possessed a matchless devotion to each other throughout their marriage.

Jo Ann was predeceased by her brothers Reginald of New Bedford, Mass., Richard of Manassas, Va., Paul of Rocky River, Ohio, and Guy (Joseph) of Skowhegan.

Along with her husband, she is survived by her children and their spouses: Jane and Dean Quirion of Winslow, John and Wendy Nivison of Winslow, Margaret and Thomas Baker of Keene, N.H., Marsha and Paul Pelletier of Williamsburg, Va., David and Asha Nivison of Madison, Tenn., Mary Beth and Jim Bourgoin of Winslow, and Kenneth and Kristen Nivison of Pembroke, N.H.

She is also survived by her eighteen grandchildren: Kevin Quirion of Sidney, Kristina Boudreau and her husband Joe of Lisbon, Lauren Nivison of Falmouth, Jack Nivison of Newbury, Mass., Colby Baker of Manchester, N.H., Hillary Van Clief and her husband Dan of Saco, Paul Pelletier and his wife Jessica of Matthews, N.C., Alex Pelletier of Williamsburg, Va., Patrick Pelletier and his wife Ashley of Roanoke, Va., Benjamin Pelletier and his wife Jessica of Union Bridge, Md., Austin Nivison and his wife Alli of Murfreesboro, Tenn., Hannah Scott and her husband Ryan of Greenbrier, Tenn., Olivia Nivison of Madison, Tenn., Sonali Hajari of Madison, Tenn., Conner Bourgoin of Waltham, Mass., Jo Ann Bourgoin of Portland, Campbell Nivison of Pembroke, N.H., and Caroline Nivison of Pembroke, N.H., as well as ten (soon to be twelve) great-grandchildren. She also leaves behind two of her brothers, Melvin Williams of Oakland, and Earl Williams and his wife Jane of Nashua, N.H., her brother-in-law, Kenneth Nivison of South China, her sister-in-law, Nancy Nivison Soper and her husband Robert of Martinsville, Va., and several nieces and nephews.

The family would like to thank the emergency room staff at Thayer Hospital, the trauma unit at Maine Medical Center, and the nurses and staff at MaineGeneral HomeCare and Hospice for their care of Jo Ann in her final days.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to MaineGeneral HomeCare and Hospice or to the Maine Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.

A Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Saturday, November 19, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. at St. John the Baptist Church in Winslow, followed by a celebration of Jo Ann’s life in the Parker Reed Room at the Schair-Swenson-Watson Alumni Center, Colby College.