Nicole Janine Ewing

Nicole Janine Ewing, age 52, walked on to the Spirit World on Thursday, May 7, 2020, in Albuquerque, NM. She was with her family, including her beloved dog, Hank, at her side. She died of complications of a longstanding illness.

After graduating  from Ignacio (CO) High School in 1986, Nicole enrolled at Moorhead State University, earning a degree in Elementary Education, and at the University of Minnesota, earning a Master of Arts in Teaching. At Moorhead State, she was a member of Gamma Phi Beta Sorority, pledging in 1988. In 1990, she was selected to serve as Owl Fraternity Sweetheart.

Nicole recently moved to Albuquerque from Brooklyn Park, MN. She had been a teacher with Osseo Area Public Schools for twenty-eight years. She taught, first, at Willow Lane Elementary School and then at Woodland Elementary School. She was a gifted teacher and was often called upon to work with children who had presented challenges in other classrooms. Nicole was successful because she had the most loving heart and endless patience. Her classroom was filled with warmth and the magic of learning, every day. She was often requested to be the lead teacher for new and innovative curriculum reforms.

Nicole’s family is Ojibwe from Turtle Mountain, in North Dakota. Her Spirit Name was Ziigaanikwe, Spring Woman. While teaching for Ossea Area schools, she was named Native Teacher of the Year and given a feather as an honoring gift. As a young girl, Nicole dressed and danced at powwows with her extended family, including at Crow Fair. She loved to listen to old-style men’s traditional drumming. Her favorite singers were members of the Zotigh family. She remembered them from her experiences of dancing in Oklahoma.

Nicole joins her husband, Wade Ewing; and her father-in-law, Richard Ewing; in the Spirit World, along with past generations of Ojibwe, French, and Irish grandparents; and her nephew, Louis duCharme. She leaves behind her sons, Joseph Ewing and Jack Ewing; and her brother, Marc duCharme, his wife, Kerry, and son, Aiden. She is mourned by her parents, Ted and Ellen duCharme, of Barnesville, MN; and Sandra Wolf, of Albuquerque. She will also be missed by her mother-in-law, Jane Ewing; and many duCharme cousins; as well as her uncles and aunts, Pierre and Mary duCharme, Brian and Liz Wolfgram, and uncles, Ronald Wolfgram and James Wolfgram.

Nicole’s ashes will be carried from New Mexico to Minnesota by her sons. A Memorial Service will be held at New Hope Evangelical Free Church in Minneapolis, MN, as soon as church services resume in the wake of the COVID 19 restrictions.

Travel well, Ziigaanikwe.