Nicole Dell 1966 - 2024

Nicole “Nico” Dell, of McMinnville, Oregon, died unexpectedly but peacefully in her sleep on Thursday, May 9, 2024. She was 58.

She was born in eastern California, but moved to McMinnville as a child, where she attended Memorial School, McMinnville Junior High School and Mac High. She then studied at Willamette University in Salem, where she was an eager and talented participant in the theater program. This was capped by her stellar performance in the one-woman play, "The Yellow Wallpaper."

She has been a fixture in McMinnville for most of her life, spending several years as a member of the city planning commission. Many Mac locals will know her from her years as a top server and expert wine connoisseur at La Rambla restaurant, where she had a smile for everyone.

A constant beam of sunshine for her family, she was always full of new ideas and projects, spurred by her endless creativity. She adored her twin nephews and always came up with the most imaginative, fun and educational gifts for them.

Nico loved to cook and was a talented chef. At a recent family birthday dinner, she made homemade pasta and four different sauces from scratch, then passed a bowl of her homemade salt, made from sea water.

An artist at everything she did, she was multi-talented, from creating a range of unique and imaginative photographic projects to crafting a life-sized papier-mache dragon, to her exquisite embroidery work. She wrote beautiful poetry but could also come up with hilarious captions for the cartoons she thought up. She played the flute and especially enjoyed playing duets with her mom on piano. She brought her amazing imagination and creativity to bear on everything she touched.

Nicole was famous for her sense of humor—wry, intellectual, smart, and very, very funny. Her big laugh was unique and her smile lit up her whole face. An avid reader, Nicole would go through nearly 100 books a year and was the star family go-to for recommendations.

Nicole had a soft heart for all, particularly animals. As a child, she convinced her parents to adopt a dog that had followed her home; she named him Chewy. She cared for every cat who happened to stray through her yard. One day, she caught one of “her” cats with a mouse, rescued it, then bought a luxurious cage and toys and turned the mouse into a pet she loved to play with. Of all the animals she cared for, her beloved dog Monroe was likely the one she was closest to.

A great traveler, she covered much of the world, both on her own and with family. Some of her favorite destinations were Borneo, Bali, Suriname (where she camped in the jungle with her sister and ate iguana) and Europe. Her most recent travel was a trip to London and Paris with her mom.

There is no way to express how much Nico will be missed by everyone who knew and loved her. She is survived by her mother, Marilyn Worrix; her father, Roger Dell, and her stepmother, Beth; her sister, Dr. Megan Dell; her nephews, Ethan and Cormac Dell; her brother, Jeffrey Dell; and her aunts, Donna Meyer, Mary Gail Wallace, and Sybil Branger.