Bessie (Bacus) Nichols

Bessie (Bacus) Nichols, 90, long time resident of Wethersfield and Old Lyme, died peacefully on Christmas night. She was predeceased by her dearly beloved husband, Peter, to whom she was married for 45 years. Born on July 15, 1922 in Hartford, she was the daughter of the late Spiros and Angeline Bacus. Bessie lived in Wethersfield since she was 14 years old and, for many years, summered in Old Lyme. She also lived in Deerfield Beach. She taught at the Kinsella Elementary School in Hartford and in the Rocky Hill school system. In the mid l960s, Bessie was elected to the Wethersfield Board of Education and awarded four of her five children their high school diplomas. A devoted member of the St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Hartford for many years, Bessie was a Charter member of the first Ladies Philotopchos Society, Past President of the Philotopchos Society, Daughters of Penelope, and co-chairman of groundbreaking ceremonies for the St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Hartford. She and her husband were the first husband and wife governing team, she as Past District Governor of District 7 of the Daughters of Penelope and Peter as District Governor of AHEPA, District 7. On Mother's Day in 2003, Bessie was honored with the Mother of the Year award by the St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral. On her 85th birthday, friends and family congregated in Old Lyme to join in the celebration. She is pre-deceased by her son, Peter and is survived by four children, George Nichols and his wife, Wendy, of Boca Raton, FL, Spere Nichols of Miami, FL, William Nichols and his wife, Mary Elizabeth (Dee), of Wethersfield, and Ann Gail Nichols and her husband, Lawrence Fox, of West Hartford; nine precious grandchildren, Bret Nichols and his wife, Megin, of Middlebury, Kate Nichols of Wethersfield, Jamie Tessar and her husband, Rob, of Roanoke, VA, Paige and Grace Nichols of Wethersfield, Blase and Ryan La Sala of West Hartford, and David and Julia Fox of West Hartford; and nine adored great-grandchildren, Juliette, Lincoln, Maxton, Sadie, Elias, Maia, Ian, Nicholas and Mackenzie. We are so grateful for the time we had together. Our dearly loved mother and ""yia yia"" will never be forgotten. The family is grateful for the attentive care offered by the loving team at Hebrew Health Care.

The family will receive friends at the D'Esopo Funeral Chapel, 277 Folly Brook Boulevard, Wethersfield, TODAY from 4-7 p.m. with a Trisagion Service at 5 p.m. Funeral services will be held on Friday at 10 a.m. at St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Hartford with the Rev. F. George Zugravu, Dean officiating. Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hartford. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 433 Fairfield Ave., Hartford, CT 06114. For online expressions of sympathy please visit www.desopo.com