July 13, 2021
Marie Louise Nicholson Gossett Hissam, 90, found her way to be with the Lord on July 7, 2021. The proud mother of 4, grandmother of 11, and great-grandmother of 2, was a native of Ashland, KY, where she was a member of Holy Family Catholic Church. Most recently, she was a four-year resident of Taylor Manor Nursing Home in Versailles, KY where she lived with unwavering care.
Marie was born on Aug. 20, 1930, in Ashland, KY as the oldest of five children to predominantly Scotch/Irish parents Harry Boone Nicholson and Eva Louise Neekamp. Ashland is hometown of the family for nine generations. Her father’s side descended from the pioneering family of Jacob and Daniel Boone, who helped scout the Cumberland Gap, served in the Revolutionary War and established Maysville as one of the earliest settlements in what would be the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
As a child, Marie loved spending time in the outdoors with her large Ashland family. During summers in her youth, she would spend months hiking in the hills and camping on Little Sandy River. She excelled at Girl Scouts and was named to the International Scout Camp where she made friends from around the world. Marie attended Holy Family School, Cardome Academy and the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati. Her love of reading was evident when she majored in Social Studies and graduated with high honors with a Bachelor of Arts. Soon after, she married her childhood sweetheart, Robert Joseph Gossett. Known as Bob, he had played basketball at nearby Xavier University. He enlisted in the Air Force during the Korean War and the newlyweds relocated to Forbes Air Force Base in Topeka, KS, where their first child, daughter Peggy Louise, was born.
After Bob’s service, the family moved several times as Bob went to work as one of Armco Steel Corporation’s top salesmen and managers. That resulted in their four children being born in four different states, including son Robert Joseph Jr. in Ashland, son John Boone in Columbus, OH, and daughter Elizabeth Ann in Birmingham, MI. The family also resided in Grand Rapids, MI, and San Antonio, TX. The family took memorable vacations at Myrtle Beach and their family property at rustic Lake Cumberland. KY.
Marie used to joke that she should just live out of moving boxes, and the dog Alfred would never know his way home. But the challenging schedule in fact took its toll. Marie moved back to her beloved Ashland with the two youngest children, while the two oldest continued college in Michigan. There, she met and married her second husband, Clarence W. Hissam. Marie quickly learned computer processing and returned to the workforce as a Purchasing Agent for Armco Steel, where Clarence also worked in a key role in the blast furnace.
While raising her children, Marie became known as “the Mom with the open door”, and often fed, housed and chauffeured her children’s friends. She passed on many of her extensive skills, of both tomboy and polished origin. She could drive a stick shift, tow and captain a boat, build a campsite, cook on a campfire, fish, swim endlessly, identify wildlife, sew a dress or suit from scratch, make amazing meals, follow her children’s sports, play piano, enjoy concerts and identify classic music. She was fearless, as once she scared off a bear at the campsite by banging pans together, and another time saved a small boy from being beaten by a neighborhood bully. A witty conversationalist, Marie had mingled with many captains of industry from her childhood years during WWII and forward, as her father was an Armco Steel executive. Her maternal grandfather Conrad Neekamp was a WWII Army Corps Colonel in charge of rivers, and he taught her the geography, flow and love of the nation’s rivers. These skills honed in childhood were a great asset when she served as Room Mom, Girl Scout and Boy Scout Troop Leader, and church volunteer.
Many times over, the beautiful and well-spoken Marie said she wished to be remembered as a good Mom. Her children and many of their friends agreed she had nobly put her children first and achieved that selfless goal.
Marie is survived by her four children, writer Peggy Gossett-Seidman (Dr. Barry Seidman) of Highland Beach FL; geologist Robert J. Gossett Jr. (Cindy) of Cape Coral, FL, 8-year U.S. Navy veteran, mechanical consultant John B. Gossett (Jaynie) of Pleasant Prairie, WI, and OR Nurse Beth Gossett Martin (Billy) of Nicholasville, KY. She also is survived by grandchildren Dr. Tyler Seidman (Heather Lemieux), Austin Seidman, Dallas Seidman, Michael Gossett (Barbie Gossett), Jennifer Gossett-Ayotte (Nick), Ashley Gossett-Dennison (Michael), Chelsie Gossett-Diamond (Joshua), Jonathan Gossett; Hannah Martin (fiancé Forrest Neyman), Sarah Martin and Henry William Martin V. She is also survived by two adorable great-grandchildren, Mason Landry Gossett and Adeline Katherine Ayotte.
Surviving Marie are sister Leann Nicholson Ward of Cold Spring KY, brother Harry Boone Nicholson Jr. (Kathie) of Nokomis FL, and Pam Nicholson Rose (Terry) of Castle Hayne, NC, sister-in-law Colleen Cloran Gossett, 18 nieces and nephews. and nearly countless extended family including first cousins Nick Nicholson, Joe Nicholson and John Declan Nicholson.
Marie was preceded in death by her beloved mother in 1943, her father in 2003 at age 96, her step-mother Zeris Nicholson, a sister Peggy Pointe Nicholson at age 3, and her husband.
A mass of christian burial will be held Friday, July 16, 2021 at 11 A.M. at Holy Family Catholic Church by V. Rev. D. Andrew Garner, KHS and Father Frank Sherry, CPM. Friends may call at the church one hour before service time. Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery
Menu