Evelyn Bahr Nichols

Evelyn Louise Bahr Nichols passed away peacefully on May 4, 2025, at the Middlesex Health Hospital, having lived for 100 years, almost 7 months. She was born in New York City on October 11, 1924, and lived in the family home in Crestwood, New York until she married our Father, Jarvis Wood Nichols, in 1949.

Before Marriage, Evelyn graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1942, and Centenary College in 1944. She worked as a secretary in New York City until she met our Father in the office. Our parents had 4 children: Christopher Wood (Ann) from Barnstable, Massachusetts, Jennifer Eaton Wilson (John) from Plymouth, Massachusetts, Betsy Louise, from Shelburne, Vermont, and Holly Anne, who passed away in 2022.

Our parents started their lives together in Rye, New York, moved to Ardsley, then Scarsdale, New York, and relocated to Madison, Connecticut in 1960 where they lived until 1988 when they purchased their final home in Clinton, Connecticut.

While our Father worked at American Cyanamid company in Wallingford, Connecticut, our Mother was a Girl Scout leader, a cookie mother (we remember our garage full of boxes of Girl Scout cookies!), and helped out at our school as a “lunch lady.” She could always be seen reading. In 1969, Mother began a second career in retail which she loved. She started at Sage-Allen in Old Saybrook, first in gift-wrap, then linens, ready-to-wear, and through the years moved up to assistant manager. When Sage-Allen closed in 1994, Mother moved on to Waterford/Wedgewood until 2012 when the store in Clinton closed. She was immensely proud to work until she was 88 years old!

Evelyn outlived her nuclear family: her father Harry Bahr (1936), her mother Anna Bahr (1973), her sisters Gladys Spence (2015) and Virginia Bahr (2022), and her brother Henry Bahr (2021), her husband, Jarvis (2011), and her youngest child, Holly (2022). She leaves behind her 3 living children, Chris, Jennifer, and Betsy, and their spouses, her 8 grandchildren: Erin (Andrew) Maker, Abby (Anastasios) Mavrokefalos, Andrew (Jenny) Nichols, Courtney (Blake Trask) Ryan, Kimberly (Jamie) Nassar, Bart Wilson, Ben (Allison) Wilson, and Robin Wilson (Vijay) Jayaraman, and her 14 great-grandchildren: Charlie Maker, Olivia and Poppy Mavrokefalos, John and Matt Nichols, Addie and Neva Trask, Ryan and Jaime Nassar, Annalise, Lily, and Reid Wilson, and Ethan and Bode Jayaraman. She also is remembered fondly by her nieces and nephews who called her, “Dear.” We especially thank Kim Honig, Susan Garcia, Janet Deveau, and Jeff Spence for the kindness they showed to our Mother. Her Goddaughter, Nancy Spence Breon passed away in 2018. We are grateful to the concerned efforts of the Emergency Department at Middlesex Health Primary Care in Westbrook, and the kind and caring medical staff at the Middlesex Health Hospital.

The family will hold a private ceremony to celebrate our Mother’s 100+ years of life during the summer.