A few years after Ernie Nicholson's wife, Ruth passed away Tuesday, June 25, 2019, he decided he wanted to do something to honor her memory. Ruth and Ernie loved going to the Morton Public library, so Ernie decided he would like to start an designated endowment fund at the Morton Community Foundation that would provide annual grant money to the Morton Public Library to be used for technology upgrades that might not be in its regular budget. The fund was started in April of 2023.
Ruth was born April 16, 1939, in Sedgeletch, Fence Houses (United Kingdom). She married Ernest Nicholson on February 15, 1964.
Surviving are her husband, Ernie of Morton; her daughter, Stephanie (Scott) Hassett of Morton; her son, Simon (Angela Harmon) Nicholson of Morton; and one grandson, Austin Hassett of Morton
Ruth worked at Witzig's in Morton for many years.
She was a member of All Saints' Episcopal Church in Morton, where she was a member of the Altar Guild and the Woman's Guild.
Ernie passed away just a few months after starting the endowment fund, on October 17, 2023, having never had the chance to see the first grant distributed to the library.
Ernest was born March 25, 1936, in Pelton, County Durham, England. He married Ruth Race on February 15, 1964. She preceded him in death. Surviving are his daughter, Stephanie (Scott) Hassett of Morton; his son, Simon (Angela) Nicholson of Morton; and one grandson, Austin Hassett, of Chicago; and two brothers, John Nicholson, and Brian Nicholson, both of England.
Ernest started at Caterpillar in Birtley, England in 1962, as an engineer. He and his family were later transferred to Peoria, IL in 1974 with Caterpillar. He retired from Caterpillar in July 1998.
He was a member of All Saints Episcopal Church in Morton, where he served many years on the Vestry and managed the endowment fund.
Ernest was an avid reader, enjoyed traveling, doing home improvement projects, spent a lot of time following the stock market and investing and enjoyed watching tennis and cycling.
