In Memory

Phyllis Mae Hulbert (Nickerson) - Class Of 1941

Phyllis Mae Hulbert (Nickerson)

Phyllis Mae Hulbert, daughter of Havelock Hulbert and Gertrude Knowlton, was born March 17, 1923 at Pasadena, California.  She died February 14, 2012 at Lafayette, California at the age of 88 years.  Raised in Pasadena and South Pasadena, she graduated from South Pasadena High School in 1941.

In 1942 Phyllis and Kermit Melin were married at Pasadena.  During World War II, Kermit and Phyllis both worked at Lockheed Aircraft:  Phyllis on the P-38 Lightning assembly line and Kermit as an engineer.  Following the War, Panorama City became home and the Panorama Presbyterian Church became an important part of her and her family's life.  Phyllis was an active and willing participant in her children's lives and activities.  She was an active member of the Panorama City Garden Club and later the West Valley Garden Club.  She enjoyed camping with the family at Virginia Lakes in the High Sierra and many summers took her children camping at Carpinteria State Park while Kermit worked at Lockheed's famed "Skunkworks."  After Kermit's death in 1979, Phyllis met Donald Nickerson.  They were married in 1981 and were a devoted couple until his death in 2002.

Besides her husbands, Phyllis was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers, Claude Hulbert (SPHS '36), and an infant brother.  She is survived by her children, Richard (Carol) Melin, Ronald (Elaine) Melin, and Cheryl (Tom) Collins; five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

Los Angeles Daily News, March 3, 2012