Montpelier, VT- Lucy (Lucille) Nichol, activist, teacher, gardener, woman of peace, died at her home, the Heaton Woods Residence in Montpelier, on March 31 st at 100 years of age. Lucy was born Lucy Bahssin, in 1921 in New York, the middle child of Latvian and Russian immigrant parents who left Europe to escape poverty, anti-Semitism and the oppression of the Russian tsar and his henchmen. The Depression of the 1930's profoundly affected both her health and world view as did the war that followed. Pacifism and sympathy for the "underdog" came to define her personality. During the height of the Depression the family was very poor and moved frequently and when there was no food in the house, Lucy's parents would send the children to their grandparents to be provided with a meal. Lucy graduated from Hunter College in 1942 with a degree in social work and was employed as a teacher in a Works Project Administration (WPA) daycare. She soon joined the fight against fascism in Europe by working at Western Electric and then the North American Philips Corp., which made electrical components for the war effort. She worked alongside other women, like herself, who replaced the shortage of male workers who were defending freedom abroad. At North American Phillips she joined the union and eventually became a full-time union organizer for the United Electrical Workers, meeting and marrying Herb Nichol, who was also an organizer. When Herb was transferred to Baltimore Lucy began a career as a teacher of children with learning disabilities, working in Baltimore, then Philadelphia, New Jersey and finally in the Chelsea and Tunbridge, Vermont school system until her retirement. In addition to teaching, taking classes towards an advanced degree, raising two daughters, and caring for a house, she found time to join the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and take part in rallies against the Vietnam War, the Poor People's March, and the Nuclear Freeze Campaign. Lucy and Herb moved to Chelsea, Vermont in the late 1970's where Lucy met like- minded activists and together they started a Central Vermont branch of WILPF. Upon her retirement from teaching Lucy continued to lead an active and vigorous life. Every Friday at noon for years she was part of a small group standing in front of the Montpelier Post Office holding a sign protesting war or calling for nuclear disarmament. Tax Day in mid-April would find her with a petition in hand calling on politicians to spend tax dollars on education, housing, and alleviation of poverty instead of the military; and Hiroshima Day in early August would find her making and floating origami boats with candles down the Winooski River to symbolize the hope that the world would never again see such destruction. In her later years, she and other like-minded Central Vermont women formed the Raging Grannies and sang protest songs at rallies and other political events. She continued to work for peace well into her 90's when declining health put an end to those activities. When Herb died in early 1997 Lucy asked those who wished to remember him to contribute towards the creation of a Peace Park in Montpelier. The park offers a quiet spot from which to enjoy the Winooski River and a place of remembrance of those who dedicated their lives to peace. The park became her passion and she could be found there, into her early 90's, planting flowers and weeding the gardens alongside several good friends and sometimes family and strangers whom she cajoled to join in these efforts. Lucy leaves her two daughters, Julie and Polly, both of Montpelier, her son-in-law Cyrus Jordan, grandchildren Jonathan and Rebecca Jordan and their respective spouses Amanda Jordan and Sam Campbell-Nelson, great granddaughters Katie and Libby Jordan and Ellie Campbell-Nelson, along with nieces, nephews and other relatives. Her family is extremely grateful to the wonderful staff of Heaton Woods as well as Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice who lovingly cared for Lucy during her final years. Contributions in Lucy's memory can be made to either the Montpelier Peace Park, c/o City of Montpelier Parks Dept., 58 Barre St., Montpelier, Vt. 05602, or Heaton Woods Residence, 10 Heaton St., Montpelier, Vt. 05602.