Anne McNicholas

Anne Marie Harman McNicholas died of complications of a blood disorder at Talbot Hospice House, Easton, MD on Friday, May 25, 2007. She and her husband have been residents of the Eastern Shore for 31 years. Born in Baltimore, the daughter of the late Robert and Katherine Butterfield Harman. In her early grammar school years she lived in Norfolk, VA. She use to talk about commuting overnight on the old Norfolk steamships from her home in Norfolk to her grandmothers house in Baltimore. When her father was transferred, the family moved back to Baltimore and lived with her grandmother on Charles St. She attended Sts. Phillips and James parochial school and graduated from Notre Dame Prep in 1946. About that time she did competitive swimming and was a member of a very good Lakewood swimming team. She graduated from Notre Dame College in 1950 with a major in art. After graduation she took a job with the Baltimore City Board of Education and taught kindergarten at two inter-city schools in the South Baltimore district. She was married in 1953 to Bud McNicholas and lived over a 4 year period in Florida and Texas while her husband was serving in the Navy. They returned to Baltimore in 1957 and settled in Towson, MD where she was a homemaker and raised 5 children. Sewing was her hobby in these early days while she made a variety of clothes for her children and herself. The family moved to Guilford then to Roland Park where they were members of the Cathedral of Mary our Queen. Her family had a real love of the Chesapeake and in 1976 moved to the Wye River on the eastern shore where boating, crabbing and fishing were the order of the day. At that time with fewer “little ones” to care for, she began to paint again and was a member of the Kent Island Art Foundation where she began to expand her talent for painting that had been matured in college. Most of her paintings in the early phase of this resurgence were water and wild life scenes. Then thru the years she became interested in painting floral arrangements and individual flowers. She entered a number of her paintings in the local shows and earned a number of awards. Although her family tried to encourage her to place some of her work “up for sale”- she always maintained that she would rather distribute her paintings to her children for display in their homes as well as her own home. In addition to a number of art clubs, she was a member of the Queenstown garden club and served as the junior garden club coordinator. Her fascination with flowers produced beautiful gardens at home, and an interest in flower arranging. While living on the Wye River she was a member of St. Peters parish of Queenstown and served on the alter society. In 2003 she and her husband of 54 years moved to Easton, MD where they lived at the Easton Club. In Easton she was a member of the Easton Academy of the Arts and Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church. In addition to her husband Mrs. McNicholas is survived by 5 children, Jeanne Stringer, Patrick McNicholas, Thomas McNicholas all of Baltimore, Timothy McNicholas of San Jose, CA, and Nancy Gosnell of Easton; one brother, Thomas Harman of Durango, CO; one sister, Edith Grice of Baltimore; and seven grandchildren. A visitation will be held on Tuesday, May 29, 2007 from 2-4 and 6-8 PM at Fellows, Helfenbein and Newnam Funeral Home, P. A., Easton, MD. A Funeral Liturgy will be celebrated at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Easton on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 at 11AM Burial will be held at St. Peters Catholic cemetery, Queenstown, MD, on Thursday, May 31, 2007 at 10AM. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Talbot Hospice Foundation, 586 Cynwood Dr, Easton, MD 21601