Myra was born on January 15, 1938, in Fulton, KY, to Eunice Murphy Jackson and William Alexander Jackson. She was their oldest child. Myra attended David Lipscomb College (now Lipscomb University) in Nashville, TN. After graduating in 1959 with a degree in chemistry, she was hired by US Tobacco (UST) in Nashville to work as a chemist. While working in the lab at UST Myra met Charles A. Nickolaus Jr. They married on November 26, 1960, in Nashville. Their honeymoon was spent driving a trailer to Chicago, where Charles had been transferred with UST. After several years of living in the Chicagoland area working at Ovaltine, Myra and Charles started a family. They had three children: Melanie Rae, Delia, and Charles III (Nick). A loving and dutiful mother, Myra spent her time raising their three children while also being very active in the Elmhurst Homemakers Extension.
In 1981, UST transferred Charles back to Nashville and they bought a house in Brentwood. She became active in local organizations like Welcome Wagon, which included bowling and, fortuitously, a quilting group: “The Card Playing Quilters.” It was with this group of dear friends that Myra developed her quilting skills, and attended the annual quilt shows in Paducah, KY. She also became a member of the Cumberland Valley Quilters Association.
Myra started selling her sewing and quilting creations in a booth at the Galloping Goose. Since she could not always find the fabric she wanted, the idea of Stitchers Garden was born. The dream of her own store came to fruition when Stitchers Garden opened in 1988 at Carter’s Court in Franklin, TN. When the number of fabric bolts stretched the space to its limits, Myra moved the shop to downtown Franklin in 1991, right on Main Street. After eighteen years in the same location the demands of a growing business prompted another move, this time to Watson’s Glen in Franklin in 2009. In 2021 Myra moved Stitchers Garden to the current location in Brentwood- a true quilter’s garden paradise. Myra loved Stitchers Garden and her “shop ladies”. She never wanted to retire.
Myra was also a passionate sports fan. For many years, she attended almost every home game of the Nashville Predators and the Tennessee Titans. Never a fair weather fan, she stuck with both teams through thick and thin. She even got to attend the Titans’ Super Bowl appearance in Atlanta. Myra was also a long suffering Chicago Cubs fan, and in 2016 she finally got to enjoy what so many Cubs fans through history had dreamed of- a World Series championship. So when Nashville scored a pro soccer team, of course, she became an avid supporter of them as well.
Myra was a great cook and baker, much to the delight of family and friends, and continued to try out new recipes up until her passing.
The other joy of her life was her grandson Noah. She treasured their time spent together, especially the time at Stitchers Garden.
Myra was preceded in death by her husband, Charles Jr. and her parents Eunice and William Jackson. She is survived by her younger brother William (Bill) Jackson, her eldest daughter Melanie Rae (Nickolaus) Mahathy and her husband Joel; her younger daughter Delia Nickolaus; her son Charles (Nick) Nickolaus III, Nick’s wife Holly (Meyers) Nickolaus and their son Noah; and her grand-dog Pippa. She is also survived by her Stitchers Garden family: the “shop ladies” and all the customers who became friends over the years
A gathering of family & friends for Myra will be held Thursday, March 2, 2023 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Brentwood-Roesch-Patton Funeral Home, 9010 Church Street East, Brentwood, TN 37027. A funeral service will occur Friday, March 3, 2023 from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM at Brentwood-Roesch-Patton Funeral Home.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.Brentwood-Roesch-PattonFuneralHome.com for the Nickolaus family.
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