Denise May Nighman

On or about 8 PM on March 12, 2026, Denise Nighman passed away peacefully at age 97. She was accompanied by the gentle acapella voices of several Carmelite sisters of Marycrest Manor where she lived. When condolences were offered, the word “vibrant” was among those to describe her persona and her life.

Such a word conjures many others, contrasting and complementary, that equally describe the blessing that she was to family and friends these many years. She was forceful and direct, yet coquettish. She was thoughtful, yet at times wildly spontaneous, even joyfully careless. She was full of subtle and not so subtle English humor, offering quips with a sly, knowing smile. Of course, she loved anything chocolate! Above all she was committed to charitable causes and to her Catholic faith, the descendant she often reminded, of a long-established royal Catholic family, but always with a special grateful memory of her doting Protestant father.

Born in Liverpool, England on September 27, 1928, Denise was a young girl during the history that was World War II. Perhaps, surrounded socially as a girl by young American soldiers who joined the British War Effort, she became enamored with the idea of moving to the States. She was adventurous, leaving her nation and her community to become private tutor to the children of Joan Perry Cohn, the widow of the bigger than life once head of Columbia Studios, Harry Cohn in the heart of the movie industry suburb of Beverly Hills, California where “Diz” as she was then known, mingled with the celebrities of the day.

In time she became a teacher at the Frostig School, still in existence, which then and now educates children with learning differences. It was there that she met and became friends with Kenneth Nighman, a therapist, a few years younger than she. In time, the quiet Ken and the enthusiastic Denise became devoted husband and wife and lived many years in Studio City, California until Ken’s untimely death in 2001. She became a fierce advocate for the Sisters Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick, who took care of Ken at end of life. As such, she became the President of their Burbank Guild, California to raise funds in support of their charitable end of life nursing care.

Denise never forsook England, and for many years until just before the COVID-19 crisis, every year, she took summer residence in Mayfair, at the Landsdowne Club, near the Farm Street Parish at which she attended Mass. There, family and friends gathered, and she often traveled with her nephew, David, to the climes of Italy and elsewhere to which there was easy access. At the club, she was indeed treated as “her Ladyship” by the staff whom she charmed, and cajoled, and yes, commanded. Of course, she attended Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 joining other celebrants of the longest reigning monarch in England.

Denise often had dinner parties at The Nighman Home in Studio City, California. She was a kind of “throw it together” cook, and yet somehow a consummate hostess. She hosted many Afternoon Teas, where her American friends sampled the joy of cucumber sandwiches and clotted cream and a little bit of the home she left behind.

She was a long-time worshipper at the little parish of St. Victor in West Hollywood, a confidante of pastors and fellow attendees who called her friend.

She was indeed a “force of nature” with an unstoppable faith not only in herself and her goals, but also in her love of God in whose hands she now resides.

Funeral Services will be held at Saint Victor Catholic Church, 8634 Holloway Drive, West Hollywood, California on March 31, 2026. There will be a viewing at 10 a.m. followed by the Rosary at 10:30 a.m. and Mass at 11 a.m.

A reception will follow outside the Church, on the balcony.