Ellen "Tutu-CooCoo" Nix

Perhaps Rogers and Hammerstein said it best when they wrote the lyrics for the Sound of Music, about the indescribable nature of the nun, turned nanny, Maria…

How do you solve a problem like Maria?

How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?

She is gentle…

She is wild…

She’s a riddle…

She’s a child….

She’s a headache…

She’s an angel….

and a clown…

How do you find a word that means Maria?

How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?

In our collective experience of being her daughters all of our lives, we have never been able to adequately describe our Mom. She is simply unforgettable. The most creative, talented, multi-faceted, unique being that any of us has ever known. She followed her own course on her own time, as if she had a different pulse than the rest of us. Whether sculpting a life size figure of legends like Marcel Marceau, Luciano Pavarotti or David Helfgott; playing classical music by ear on her baby grand piano; sketching a landscape, carving driftwood, knitting shawls, painting scenery for a theatre production, or simply sitting at Denny’s and making a centurion from the paper that came off the straw… Creativity was not an option, it was simply who she was.

Born in 1922 in Michigan City, Indiana, Mom was the second of seven children, born to parents that were in love until the day they died. She graduated from high school in 1940 and enrolled in the Art Institute of Chicago. She was recruited into the Navy during World War II, working as a cartographer in the hydrographic office at the Pentagon. Though not aware at the time, she would take part in drawing some of the most famous maps of all time… the targeting of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. With the War over, she enrolled at the University of Miami, where she fell in love with the theatre and worked alongside fellow students that would one day become famous actors. One scene, which was not an act, would have her stung by a Portuguese man o’ war in the ocean off Miami Beach. She remembered struggling while her lungs filled with water, trying to breathe and fighting to survive. The next thing she remembered was seeing the face of Edmund Gwenn, the actor from Miracle on 34th Street. He had pulled her from the water, saving her life, although she thought she was hallucinating. This experience had a profound effect on her, and she spoke of it often throughout her lifetime.

After graduating from the University of Miami, mom returned to Chicago, where she joined the Bell Telephone Chorus on the radio, and landed many modeling and acting jobs, even doubling for Lana Turner, and was one of the Halo Shampoo girls! She eventually moved to California, after securing an interview with Walt Disney Studios, but marriage and children had plans of their own. So she settled into teaching various forms of art and raising the five of us! One of the organizations she volunteered with, would take her to Ashland, Oregon, where she fell in love with the Shakespearean Theatre there, and beauty of the small town. Moving her children, the family dog, horses and various other creatures to Oregon, she continued teaching and exhibiting her artwork throughout the Northwest. Many of her peers thought her artwork belonged in the Louvre!

In addition to us, her five daughters, Mom is the grandmother to four granddaughters, one grandson, and a great grandmother to twin 5 year old boys. Of her six siblings, four of them are still going strong and carrying on her legacy! She has touched so many lives through teaching, and sharing her unique personal expression and art form. The world is a better place for having had her for the past 93 years. As her daughters, we are so grateful to have had this magnificent being, known to the world as a great artist, philosopher, intellect and witty comedian, as the woman we knew, simply, as “Mom”. As with Maria, she was always like a moonbeam….. and we were never able, to pin her down!

We will be having a celebration of her Life this summer, held in Ashland, Oregon. Afterward, the five of us will be embarking on a road trip to where we grew up in California, scattering ashes amongst the beautiful backdrop of places like Ojai, Ventura Beach, Santa Barbara, and Palm Springs…. The remainder of her ashes will be placed in memorium at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C., in honor of her service during World War II, and to provide a tangible, sacred place of comfort, for family and friends to share in, for generations to come.

If you would like to leave a message for our family, the online guestbook is provided here for any thoughts or condolences, stories, pictures, reflections or experiences you would like to share. If you are inclined to send flowers, we request, instead, that you make a small contribution in Mom’s honor, to one of her favorite non-profit organizations:

Ashland Art Center: ashlandartcenter.org / 357 E. Main Street, Ashland, OR 97520 phone: 541-482-2772 (Supporting the local art community through education and grants)

OR

Sanctuary One: sanctuaryone.org / 13195 Upper Applegate Road, Jacksonville, OR 97530 phone: 541-899-8627 (Rescuing animals that would otherwise be discarded, giving them a home for life, and teaching love and compassion through education and relationship with these creatures)

OR

Thriving Waters: thrivingwatersinglide.org / P.O. Box 205, Glide, OR 97443 phone: 541-430-3821 (Celebrating the arts and education in rural communities)

As Mom embarks on this profound passage… we miss her every second, of every minute, of every hour, of every day. It is with deep gratitude, we THANK everyone, for being a part of her Life, and contributing to the unadulterated BLISS and JOY that depict the very essence of her being… It is only fitting that we close with the reminder that Love reigns above all despair, and the words Mom always said to us, whenever we had to part… ” I love you dearly, my Love hovers, and it’s only bye for now”....................