Chrystelle Nichols White Nickelsen, 99, died Sunday, June 14, 2020.

She was born January 27, 1921 in Jackson County, FL on the family farm that she was raised on by her father, William Earl Nichols, and her mother, Bertha Broome Nichols.

She is preceded in death by her siblings, Ada Leroy, Grace Boozer, Lee Nichols and Eloise Croft. Some of her happiest memories were from her life on the farm growing up. Her family moved to Pensacola when she was 16 and graduated from Pensacola High School in 1939.

She worked in downtown Pensacola where she met her husband, Kenneth A. White, a young Pensacola attorney while she was working at the County Judge's Office. Eight months later, they were married and went on to have five children: Susan Bentley, Kenneth A. White (Regina), Pam Humphreys (Rick), Teresa Banfell (Skip), and Mary Lynn White (Paul). Chrys has 17 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren. She has been a longtime Gulf Breeze resident since 1955. Kenneth A. White died in 1973.

In 1988, Chrys married BJ Nickelsen and inherited 3 more children: Durelle Green (Pat), Gail Leroy (John), and Eric Nickelsen (Peg). She was devoted to her life at St. Ann Catholic Church in Gulf Breeze, and many became her family and close friends. Including her friend Renata Jankauskas, who both together daily, read the Bible, sang hymns, and prayed for all of us.

We have to mention her adopted son, Monsignor Luke Hunt, who held a very special place in her heart. She was a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a great-grandmother, an artist, a seamstress, a knitter, and a crafter. She will be deeply missed by all of us.

Due to COVID-19 distance guidelines, public visitation will be held from 1-2pm Thursday, June 18, 2020 at St. Ann Catholic Church in Gulf Breeze, with a private family funeral mass beginning at 2:00pm. Private interment will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be sent to St. Ann Catholic Church, 100 Daniel Dr., Gulf Breeze, FL 32561.