Another year without my beautiful friend Norm. He stays in my heart and his artwork winks at me throughout my home.

I am so sorry for your loss.  I had several conversations with Norman regarding the family.  He was so very pleasant to speak to.  I know he will be missed.  Love and Blessings, Debbie

To the family of Norman Nicholson 

It is with great sadness to hear of. the passing of a wonderful soul
A supreme artist and a truly great friend, a positive, cheerful person. Never saw him without a smile on his face. 
He will always be remembered and sorely missed.
My best to all.

David Broad

I met Norm in the 70’s when a group of us designers and illustrators shared a studio at 525 Pacific in San Francisco. Those were the crazy days!
Norm was a classy guy who always had a mischievous twinkle in his eye. He was kind, funny and such a talented artist.
We were good friends through the years and I will miss him forever.

Dear Cheryl and Linda,

I was heart broken to learn of your father's passing. I hope it is of some comfort  to know your loss is shared by so many who knew your dad as a wonderful friend. He was an extraordinary man with a heart as big as the sky. 
I first met Norm 12 years ago at the Orinda life drawing workshop he founded some 10 + years prior.  From there, our friendship grew and we spent many hours together talking about family,  the Korean and  World Wars, the height of the advertising days in San Francisco in the '70's and 80's -  of which we were both a part - current events and just life in general and of course art.  He was an exceptionally accomplished artist with a diverse background and interests. Yet art did not define him. He was much more than his art. 
Early on in our friendship, Norm shared with me that he was working on a memoir about his life in San Francisco  and the war years.  He wanted to document that history for his family. So for a time, we attended a small writing group together where we shared progress on our stories. He was grateful to be able to leave that legacy to his family who he loved deeply. 
I miss the hot chocolates and coffee times we shared - always hot chocolate for Norm! - and lunches and so many stories.  Norm made you feel like you were the only person in the room.  Such a sweet man he was.  A good friend.  
 
I found these words comforting and I hope you will too:

" There will come a time when his memory will bring a smile to your face before a tear to your eye." 

I have been thinking of Norm a lot since the sad news of his death. It is hard to accept, though I know he was really going through hell. I remember trying to call him a couple of times in January, but not reaching him, I guess he may have been in hospital, or have passed away.

I considered Norm my best friend ever since he encouraged me to start freelancing in 1968, and we first shared space in a studio on Pacific Avenue in San Francisco. Many years later we met him for lunch several times, at Pompeii’s Grotto on Fisherman’s Wharf. He would take the ferry over to SF, and we would drive up from the Peninsula. We would talk for hours about ships and airplanes, and other things which we both were interested in. Norm had a way with people—gentle and caring. He had a great sense of humor, and we both were lifelong fans of Laurel and Hardy, and their films.

After he talked me into freelancing, Norm introduced me to the Society of Illustrators, and from that came the US Air Force Art Program which was a magic carpet for an airplane nut like myself. We shared several trips as part of the Art Program.

I am sending a couple of photos of Norm and I. First one is us on the stairway to Air Force 3, I believe, either as we were about to depart, or coming back from one of the Air Force Art Program trips to Wash. DC. This would have been in the late 60’s to early 70’s.

2nd photo is Norm and I with the USS Pampanito submarine in San Francisco. This would be more recently, I’m guessing in the 90’s or later. Good times. Norm and I were best friends. I am going to miss our email and, especially, our phone conversations, and just knowing that Norm was still with us. I feel an empty hole without Norm. Knowing he was still here was a comfort we no longer have.

May you have smooth sailing, Norm, old friend. You will be missed.

Norm was my friend.
I first got to know him when I joined his figure class about ten years ago. We bonded immediately.
He was admired and loved by those who knew him. My family felt very comfortable around Norm, almost as if he were a long lost uncle. If we could choose our family members he would be part of ours, and I am certain he would be included in a huge family consisting of multitudes of Norm's friends.
His quick wit kept the tone in his classes light and casual. It was his nature to create smiles and laughter as a necessary feature of daily living.
He was highly accomplished in the field of art, but extremely generous with his knowledge. His assistance was always at the ready for anyone who might require it, but it was never intrusive for those not needing or desiring his help with their art.
Norm was kind and thoughtful to the extreme. He seemed to feel not only duty but supreme satisfaction at lending a hand or uttering a kind word to another.
We were all very fortunate to have known Norm as we each did in our own way. He was the best of humanity, and his influence on his friends and acquaintances will be long lasting.

Norm and I met at the life drawing workshop at Orinda Community Center. We both taught at California College of Arts and Crafts even though quite a time apart and we both lost spouses with cancer, so we quickly became good friends. We often went to a Japanese restaurant for lunch after the workshop and talked about art and traveling we both loved.
The time he showed his deep compassion was when we organized a fundraiser for the earthquake and tsunami victims in Fukushima, Japan. We called it Artists Helping Japan and auctioned artworks by local artists raising over $8000. 
The last time I saw him was when he treated me for a lunch at the Park Hotel in Lafayette. We talked about going to a museum in San Francisco but the trip never happened due to the pandemic. 
I will miss his smile, enthusiasm, and kindness. R.I.P.

My heartfelt condolences to Cheryl and Linda.
My friendship with Norm began over 20 years ago, and it was one of the nicest pleasures in my life.  I met Norm at an Open Studio event soon after moving to the SF Bay Area.  From then on we never lacked talking about art and sharing our work with each other.  His positive attitude and his great sense of humor was an added plus.  He loved to laugh.  And word puns were quickly spoken when the opportunity came, which was often.  This was something that kept me and others laughing.  I will miss my dear friend.
Dori Pendergrass


Dear Cheryl, Linda and Rupa,
Norm came into my life when he began a loving relationship with my first cousin, Joan Rutherford.  Joan had just returned from living in Pennsylvania and I made a trip from Texas to see her and was so pleased when I met the gentleman with whom she was residing.  I could tell at once that she was in good hands.  And as time went by as I visited them every summer, I saw increasing need for someone like Norm to be with her.  After it became necessary for her to be placed in a care facility, Norm was untiring in his devotion to her every need.  I was on the phone or emailing Norm frequently to keep up on Joan's condition.  As his own health began to wane and his energy lowered with the chemo he was on, He continued, even with limited energy to make that long trip to see her.  I shall always remember him as a man of true character and determination. 

Norm and I met 25 years ago in a life drawing class in Pleasanton California. I was so impressed with his artistic skills, but more than that, with his humor, kindness and humility. His gentle spirit and love of life will be so dearly missed. 

I have so many cherished memories of Norm. I have awe-inspiring moments of his artistic talents... achingly painful moments of his losses of love... inthralled moments of his many stories of growing up in San Francisco and navy days in San Diego,... hilarious moments of his never-ending sense of humor. 

Norm was a gentleman, a talented artist, a dear sweet friend. Norm will be forever missed. 

To Cheryl, Linda, Rupa,
I'm so sorry, and so shattered to find out my beloved friend of over 40 years has passed. He was my dearest, my mentor, and we had so many wonderful times, laughed, shared sorrow, and walked the path of artists together. This leaves an enormous hole in my life as in yours. He so much wanted  more adventures and inspired me every day. That will not change.

Jennifer (Levey) DeCristoforo
Yarmouth, Maine

OBITUARY

Norman Eugene Nicholson

October 15, 1931 – January 17, 2021

The Paul Mortuary

Show your support

Add a Memory

Share Obituary

Get Reminders

Services