By Sr. Peggy Kucera and Sr. Jeanette Rerucha
“Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14) The life of one of God’s precious Villa Marie children, Nicole McCown (1977 - 1994), truly exemplified this Scripture passage.
Nicole’s birth and early development were normal, but at the age of 4, she began having seizures. With every seizure, Nicole would lose ground, as far as what she had learned in daily life. She was put on strong medication which made her everyday tasks very difficult. At the age of 10, she started attending Villa Marie School, first as a day student and later as a boarder. Nicole’s mother Rosemary stated that she “grew up with Villa Marie.” It was here that she truly blossomed.
Nicole had a bubbly, affectionate personality. She enjoyed life to the full. She was curious, and she loved learning new things. She was so excited about being at Villa Marie and loved the other students. Nicole was a friend to everyone, extremely kind and thoughtful of others. Her radiant smile naturally attracted people to her, her laugh was contagious, and she was genuinely happy. She had a true compassion for her classmates who had experienced rejection due to their disabilities. By extending Christ-like love to them, Nicole helped to heal their wounds. Her love for each person who crossed her path was genuine and heartfelt. She had a true sense of hospitality and made everyone who stepped through the doors of Villa Marie feel welcome and accepted. She also loved the Marian Sisters who taught her as well as the Sisters who came to visit.
Nicole made so much progress in every area throughout her years at Villa Marie. She grew by leaps and bounds in academics, in wisdom, and in self-confidence. But most importantly, she grew in her faith. She was confirmed at Villa Marie by Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz. She had a deep connection with Jesus and childlike confidence in Him. Her intentions at Mass during the Prayers of the Faithful were truly from her heart and always warmed our hearts.
As teachers at Villa Marie, we have found that the students teach us far more about what is really important in life. We learned so much from Nicole’s innocence and simplicity. With her great sense of humor, she helped us to not take ourselves too seriously and to not get entangled in all the complexities of life.
Nicole passed away suddenly at Villa Marie Oct. 26, 1994, just one day after her 17th birthday.
The day of her 17th birthday was a memorable one. That morning, she went to confession and attended the daily Mass celebrated at Villa Marie. School pictures were taken that day.
In the evening, the students and teachers were invited by her family to a birthday meal at Valentino’s, followed by a birthday movie at Villa Marie – a long-standing tradition at the school. After the movie and before retiring for the night, Nicole stopped and, without saying a word, gazed at Sr. Peggy for a long time before walking into the girls’ hallway. Reflecting on this after her death, Sr. Peggy felt that this was Nicole’s way of saying, “Goodbye.”
There was other evidence of Nicole’s intuition that God would call her home that night. According to her mom, she had a calendar in her room and had circled Oct. 25 and 26 with a heart shape. She also had her first Communion rosary and Bishop Bruskewitz’s holy card laid out on her bed. God in His Divine Providence allowed Nicole to have all that she needed to be spiritually prepared to meet Jesus, whom she loved so much.
The morning following her unexpected death, the bereft students, her friends, were making plans to have her buried by the Mary statue in front of the school, which would have been so appropriate, since Nicole had a deep love for our Blessed Mother. The students had experienced Nicole’s love for them and they wanted to do something for her now.
Nicole’s funeral Mass was the Mass of the Angels. She was dressed in a white dress, symbolic of her childlike innocence and purity. Even though it has been 30 years since God called Nicole home, her legacy of compassion and childlike love continues to live on.
Like Simon of Cyrene, she carried the burdens of others during her lifetime, and now, after her death, continues to help her loved ones. When asked to help find lost things, her intercession has been amazingly fruitful. For example, the mother of Rosemary’s friend lost her ring. She had handled an old quilt that a woman brought for her to look at. The lady went home. Her friend asked Nicole to help find the ring, with no luck. She then told her mother (100 years old) to ask Nicole to help, saying that she thought Nicole wanted HER to ask. She did and minutes later, the woman with the quilt called saying she discovered the ring under her bed! She had looked through the quilt earlier, but it wasn’t to be found. Dear Nicole came through.
She continues to be a true icon of God’s beauty and love. May she rest in peace.
