Somerville Nicholson Jr. ’51

A Maryland native, Nick was born Oct. 1, 1926, in Cumberland. The son of Somerville and Louise E. Nicholson, he graduated from St. James School in 1944 and served in the Army’s Coast Artillery Corps in the Pacific theater as a technical sergeant for three years. Some men brought trophies back from the war: Nick came home with Boots, the beloved dog he had rescued in Okinawa.

At Princeton he was an economics major, belonged to Tower Club, and played freshman and JV football. Extracurricular activities Nick participated in included WPRU, Theatre Intime, and the King’s Inn. He roomed with George P. Garrett ’52. Following graduation he worked for Gulf Oil and Cities Service Oil and was involved in commercial real estate after he left the oil industry.

His 1952 marriage to Parker Rouse ended in divorce. Nick was long active in animal welfare and rescue. He and his wife, Susan Alexander Nicholson, lived in a circa-1795 house in Fairplay, Md., on a small farm with stream, barn, pasture, and the essentials for their equine rescue work. He died July 28, 2010, at the age of 83. Susan, his wife of 39 years, survives him.