Obituary
Robert William Nicholson, Jr., age 88, recently of Ft. Myers, Florida, formerly of Newaygo, Michigan, passed away peacefully on December 11, 2019. He was born to Robert William Nicholson Sr. and Julia (Ramson) on November 26, 1931, in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Robert graduated from Cranford High School and received a bachelor’s degree in business from Dartmouth College. He then served as a lieutenant in the United States Coast Guard from 1954-1957.
Robert married Marilyn (Smid) Hoffman in 1954 and later divorced in 1975. He then married Christa Annaliese Laube who preceded him in death in 2013. Robert is survived by his four children, Bonnie (Jack), Becky, Jim (Karen), and Scott (Mila). He is also survived by seven grandchildren, Nicholas, Samuel, Rebecca, Jacob, Joseph, Michael, and Sarah, and two great grandchildren, Kyler and Wesley.
Robert was an avid fisherman, enjoyed hunting and woodworking, and loved to sing. He owned and operated the Baldwin Creek Motel in Baldwin, Michigan, before retiring to Newaygo, Michigan in 1999. He spent much of his time tying flies and was a well-known guide on both the Pere Marquette and Muskegon Rivers. He was a past president of the Pere Marquette Watershed Council most notably during their restoration projects on the river. He owned many hunting dogs but was proudest of his last dog, Chloe, who retrieved over 1000 pheasants in her lifetime, most of them from the Haymarsh Hunt Club in Morley, Michigan. His passion for hunting and fishing has been passed on to many of his children and grandchildren. The yearly pheasant hunt at Christmas time will be sadly missed.
A celebration of Robert’s life will be held at a later date. Inurnment will be private at the Brooklyn Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. Robert’s family suggests memorial remembrances be made to Hope Hospice, 9470 Health Park Circle, Ft. Myers, FL 33908 or the Pere Marquette Watershed Council, P.O. Box 212, Baldwin, MI 49304.
Robert’s family would like to extend a special thank you to the staff of Hope Hospice as well as the many loving family members and friends who helped in providing special care for Robert during the last few years of his life.
I guess I know now why you haven't answered your phone. You, like Christa will always be part of my fondest memories of my youth and river guiding carrier on the Pere Marquette River. I pray your both together again in heaven.