NORTH CARROLLTON – Students, teachers, and administrators at Carroll County School District are mourning the tragic death of a teacher and friend.
Marcia Nicholson, 46, of Carrollton died Monday afternoon at University of Mississippi Medical Center of a stroke, Carroll County Superintendent Billy Joe Ferguson said Tuesday. Nicholson was a third grade teacher at Marshall Elementary and a school bus driver for the district.
According to Ferguson, around 6:30 a.m. October 23, Nicholson was driving her regular school bus route when she began feeling ill. She pulled the bus over at a residence and called for help.
“[Nicholson] felt something was wrong and stopped and called,” Ferguson said.
Nicholson was taken to Tyler Holmes Memorial Hospital in Winona, and from there, she was airlifted to University of Mississippi in Jackson.
Ferguson said she died just before 3 p.m. Monday afternoon.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, October 28, 2017, at 11 a.m. in the J.Z. George High School gymnasium, with visitation set from 10 a.m. until service time prior to the service. Burial will follow in Memorial Gardens in Coila.
Nicholson leaves a husband, Leroy Nicholson, II; children, Deutangus Herndon, Kel’brea Herndon, Kelcia Stancil, and Leroy Nicholson, III.; and her mother, Emma Herndon.
“[Nicholson] is well thought of,” Ferguson said. “She just smiled a lot. She was just a good person and seemed like she had joy in her heart.”
Ferguson said at the time Nicholson called for help, she had picked up a few students, and they, like every student and teacher in the district, are grieving for their teacher, bus driver, and friend.
“Everybody is kind of taking care of each other here,” Ferguson said. “Everything is as good as it can be in a bad situation.”
Marshall Elementary School Principal Dr. Fletcher Harges said grief counselors are working with students at the school this week.
“[The students] are asking a lot of questions about why [this could happen],” Harges said. “They are taking it pretty tough. She was a great teacher, a nice teacher, and they will miss how she made them feel.”
Longtime Marshall Elementary School secretary Doris McClain said Purnell was “an awesome person.”
“Every time you saw [Nicholson] she had a beautiful smile on her face,” McClain said. “You just couldn’t help but love her. She had an awesome personality.”
Fellow teacher Montella Purnell said when those at the school learned of Nicholson’s death Monday afternoon, they were heartbroken.
“It just breaks my heart,” Purnell said. “We need to treasure every moment because life is not promised to us.”
Purnell said Nicholson was a very energetic and motivating person who loved and was much-loved by everyone she encountered.
“She loved the kids and her co-workers,” Purnell said. “She made her students feel like they were somebody – made them feel special. She took time with them and gave them special love that would lift them up.”
Ferguson said Nicholson was a native of Carroll County and a graduate of J.Z. George High School. He said that she worked for the Carroll County School District on and off since the 2007-2008 school year, working as a teacher’s assistant at both Marshall Elementary and J.Z. George High School. This August, Nicholson started as a full-time teacher, teaching third grade science and social studies.
“I feel we were blessed just from knowing her,” Ferguson said. “She was a friend. The Lord knows best, and she is in a better place and at peace.”
Harges said plans are currently underway to create a scholarship or academic award in Nicholson’s honor.
