Mary Ann Nickell worked for twenty-five years as a counselor to court appointed juveniles. She has a longtime interest in genealogy and has always been active with volunteer work. Mary Ann married George Diehl in 1953. In 1970, Mary Ann was a widow with three teenage children: Georginna, Gregory, and Patricia, when she married John Nickell who had six children.
Mary Ann was born in Snoqualmie, Washington. She traces her ancestry back to Ignatius Higdon. Her mother was Joanne Garland Higdon Schroeder. This is Mary Ann's family line:
- Ignatius Higdon, born about 1775 in Maryland, died 1814,
married Lucy __ in 1800 - John B. Higdon, born May 1811, died 12-13-1849,
married Lavina Carrico 10-24-1831 - Thomas Polan Higdon, born 3-25-1842, died 6-09-1928,
married Mary Elizabeth Wayne 11-18-1867 - Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Higdon, born 12-24-1871, died 01-04-1948,
married Regina Hamilton 01-14-1895 - Joanne Garland Higdon, born 8-15-1899, died 11-16-1955,
married Frank Schroeder 10-19-1928
Mary Ann was the HFA newsletter editor from 1997-1998. She passed away on May 10, 2001, after a long struggle with A.L.S. (Lou Gehrig's disease). She was diagnosed in 1998 with this disease, and for the last year and a half she could not speak and was on a respirator full time. She was mentioned on the Jerry Lewis MDA telethon in 2002 because this is one of the diseases that the Muscular Dystrophy Association helps with.
Mary Ann is buried next to George Arthur Diehl (her first husband) at Sunset Hills Memorial Park in Lake Hills, Washington. On her headstone is a family tree with six different names of her genealogy. Higdon is one of the names.
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