Rebecca Ward Nichols

Rebecca “Becky” Ward Nichols passed away peacefully on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, surrounded by her loving daughters and granddaughters.

Born in Presque Isle, Maine, on April 5, 1941, she was the daughter of the late Harold and Eleanor (Ward) Nichols. Becky spent her early years in Presque Isle before her family moved south to Narragansett, Rhode Island, where she graduated from South Kingstown High School in the Class of 1959. She went on to study at the Boston Children’s Hospital School of Nursing and earned her license as a Registered Nurse.

Becky married Allen Goulart and made her first home in Fort Knox, Kentucky, working as a nurse at the base hospital while Allen was on active duty in the Army. After welcoming their sons, Scott and Mark, the family returned to Massachusetts, living briefly in Raynham, where their daughters, Tracy and Sherri, were born, before building a home in Walpole. There, Becky continued her career, caring for patients with great compassion, first at Norwood Hospital and later with the Walpole Area Visiting Nurse Association. In recent years, she divided her time among Maine, Massachusetts, and Florida.

Family was the center of Becky’s life. Selfless and devoted to her four children, she shared her compassionate, loving spirit with each of them. She was a champion for those she loved, celebrating their triumphs and meeting their hardest days with tenderness. She delighted in her grandchildren, teaching them the family history and sharing stories of Maine and the joys of everyday life. Known to her grandchildren and great-grandson as “Miemie,” she was a true example of unconditional love.

Becky also treasured her faith, a good glass of wine, and the sea. Her deep appreciation of nature brought her joy, solace, and reflection throughout her life. She spent many years enjoying the beauty and peace of a second home that she and Allen built in the mountains of New Hampshire. She returned to the ocean often, and in her later years lived in Narragansett, where she loved walking the beach and searching for sea glass to add to her collection.

Becky cherished the legacy of her grandparents, Lottie May (Bradbury) Ward and Bruce Ward, whose roots ran deep in northern Maine and from whom she inherited her independent spirit. Bruce, a pioneer of the American log home industry, founded the Ward Cabin Company, now Ward Cedar Log Homes, in Houlton, and the State of Maine honored him by proclaiming February 12, 1989, as Bruce Ward Day. The log camp he built on Madawaska Lake, near Stockholm, later added to the National Register of Historic Places, was the final place Becky called home, where life was beautifully simple and happiness was found lakeside, watching the sunsets and listening to the loons.

Becky’s spirit will live on in the hearts of her children, who will always love and cherish her: Scott and his wife, Ann; Mark; Tracy and her husband, Tom; and Sherri. She was the cherished grandmother of Holly and her husband, Roland Jr.; Juliette; and Emma and her husband, Matthew; and the adored great-grandmother of Roland III. She will be missed by all, including her extended family in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. She is also survived by her sister, Elaine Beaumont, and was predeceased by her sister, Patricia D. Owens.

Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend Becky’s Mass of Christian Burial on Saturday, November 7, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at Blessed Sacrament Church, 10 Diamond Street, Walpole. Interment will be private at Fairmount Cemetery in Presque Isle, Maine, where she will rest alongside her beloved grandparents.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Becky’s name may be made to the Boston Children’s Hospital Trust, 401 Park Drive, Boston, MA 02215, or online at childrenshospital.org.

Arrangements by James H. Delaney & Son Funeral Home, Walpole.