Dr. Ruby Nell Peake Cummings Nicholson

March 17, 2015

Dr. Ruby Nell Peake Cummings Nicholson, age 74, of Scottsboro, went peacefully to be with her Lord and Savior on March 17, 2015.

Dr. Nicholson graduated from Phil Campbell High School. She obtained her Bachelor of Science degree from Florence State College (UNA), while raising three daughters.  She taught fifth grade in the Tuscumbia City School system and obtained her Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from UNA.  Dr. Nicholson accepted a Fellowship from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, and with great determination she completed her Doctorate Degree in Elementary Education by the time she was thirty years old.  That same year she accepted a professor position at Alabama A&M University in Huntsville, where she taught for 28 years. She supervised student teachers, taught masters level graduate classes, and served as an advisor.  She was appointed and served on the Board of the Alabama Womens Commission for many years. By the time she retired, Dr. Nicholson served as the Chairman of the Department of Elementary Education and Early Childhood at A&M.

During her teaching career, Dr. Nicholson inspired, motivated, and encouraged so many lives. She often saw many of her former students who would tell her how much they loved her and how she influenced them in making life changing decisions. She lived as a positive example for everyone.

Dr. Nicholson enjoyed traveling the world and no matter where she went, she made friends and never met a stranger. She traveled to 85 countries, some more than once. She would often say (in the words of Forrest Gump) “At least I ain’t led no humdrum life”. Travel was her passion and in her spirit.

Dr. Nicholson loved her family and friends. She also loved genealogy and researching her family tree and others. She was truly passionate about family history and ancestry.  In elementary school she began a lifelong friendship with her British pen pal Glennis Woodward.

Dr. Nicholson is preceded in death by her beloved daughter Nancy Renee Cummings of Tucker, Ga., her parents, Ruby Wood and Freeman A. Peake of Phil Campbell, special cousins Dr. Robert V. Wood of Huntsville, and Lynn Whatley of Double Springs.

She leaves to cherish her precious memories, her daughters Sharon Cummings Wells Johnson and husband, Larry, of Huntsville, Julie Cummings Sands and husband, Randy, of Scottsboro, and Kyoko Sears and husband, Tim of Huntsville, sisters Margie Peake Cox and husband, Larry, of Ocoee, Fla. and Karen Peake Graben and husband, Rick, of Phil Campbell; grandchildren, Allison Wells Parrish and husband, Denny, and Evan Wells of Huntsville, Samuel Sands of Atlanta, Ga., Nori Horton-Royer and husband, John, of Louisville, Kent., Emily Horton of Athens, Ga., and Thomas Sears of Huntsville, five great-grandchildren, cherished Uncle James Peak and wife, Vivian, of Double Springs, nephew Alex Graben and wife, Amy, of Muscle Shoals, nieces Elishaba Larson and husband, Carl, of Guntersville, and Melissa Sirek and husband, Alex, of Mt. Dora, Fla., and many beloved cousins, family and friends.

A memorial service will be held on March 28, 2015, at 1:00 p.m. at Scottsboro Funeral Home in Scottsboro, AL with Minister Ed Herring officiating.  The family will receive friends one hour before the service.  A family and friends graveside service will be held on April 4, 2015, at 12:00 noon at Phil Campbell, AL City Cemetery where her daughter, parents and great grandparents are interred.