Nancy Jane Hart

Nancy Jane Hart, aka Monica Love, was born on November 5, 1936 to Sylvia Jane (née West) and Logan Carr Hart in Hollywood, California. She grew up with her brother Mitchell in Los Angeles and Rosemead, CA, frolicking in strawberry fields with baby goats and speaking Spanish at the breakfast table with her dad. A talented pianist from the age of five, and gifted with perfect pitch, she studied at Sherwood Music School in Chicago before attending the University of California, Riverside. In 1957 she married Ernest Theodore Fickas, Jr. and moved to Berkeley to enroll at “Cal” and start a family. An active member of the Berkeley Food Co-op and protestor of the Vietnam War, she worked toward a Master’s degree in sociology while raising three children. After divorcing, she traveled alone to Mexico. From there, in 1968, she sailed a 30’ ketch with a crew of three to Kona, Hawaii. At different times, she lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico near her mother who had married Dr. D. Angus McKinnon, Jr. Here she became a legal secretary for the firm of her stepbrother Daniel A. McKinnon, III. She obtained her Juris Doctorate from Chicago Kent School of Law in 1986 and later passed the New Mexico State Bar. Specializing in domestic disputes, child abuse, and elder law, she opened Hart Legal Services, where pro bono work was the norm. Before retiring, she trained for a certificate in Culinary Arts at Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute and founded Naturally Gourmet, a personal catering service. Other places she called home include Waikiki, Oahu; Kahului, Maui; Chicago, Illinois; San Luis Obispo, California; Dallas, Texas; Port Angeles, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. A woman of rich talents and passions, she was variably a visual artist, musician, novelist, poet, clothing designer and seamstress, legal secretary, small business owner, attorney, and personal chef and caterer. Her pursuits consistently reflected her keen intelligence, boundless creativity, and strong spirit. Raised in Christian Science, she embraced the concept that God is Love but left the church to explore more metaphysical and esoteric spiritual philosophies. She had a strong constitution and never broke a bone. For much of her life she suffered from major depression and at times battled addiction. In her later years, dementia diminished her cognition and memory but she remained mobile and still knew her family. She lived her final two years under the loving care of Gracelen Terrace in Portland. When pneumonia finally claimed her body, she left this world beautifully and peacefully, surrounded in love, with her three children by her side. Ross Hollywood Chapel in Northeast Portland carried the torch, with close Aurora Chorus friends singing her spirit out. In March 2014 a private memorial service was held at ElderPlace Gresham. On January 15, 2015, marking a one-year anniversary of transition, her children spread her ashes over undisclosed locations on Maui, reuniting her physical remains with the surroundings she held most dear to her heart. Nancy is survived by her brother Mitchell Hart, his children Logan and Luke, and his granddaughter Livia; her children Karl Logan Fickas, Claudia Nadine (Fosso), and Ingrid Sylvia Slizewski; her grandchildren Addison Laurel Fickas, Jordan Elaine Fickas, Taylor Nash Slizewski, Logan Patrick Slizewski, Anika West Slizewski, and Remy Gabriel Fosso – who will all deeply miss and forever remember her smiles, laughter, and love. ~