Obituary for Louise Nichols Botero (Nichols)
Louise Bell Nichols Botero of Cambridge, MA (June 14, 1934 - November 11, 2020.)
Her parents were Arthur A. and Mary C. Nichols of Weston, MA, where Louise grew up. She graduated from Wellesley College and worked in Boston until 1957, when she married Rodrigo Botero of Medellin, Colombia. She started her married life in Bogota and soon adapted to the language and culture of a new country. She quickly became a power in her community, teaching English on television, planting trees in her neighborhood, raising money for scholarships and nurseries for children in need, and forming sewing circles to provide clothing to local shelters. An accomplished musician, she founded and directed Hausmusik, an early music group specializing in works from the Colonial, Renaissance and Baroque periods.
She and her husband, a former Finance Minister of Colombia, and founder of Fedesarrollo, a leading Latin-American economic and social research center, moved to Cambridge, where she honed her sewing skills and became a master quilter. She taught the spouses of international students at Harvard Neighbors for 18 years. Her standards were the highest in technique and in aesthetic quality, living up to the Nichols Company motto: “Anything Almost Right, Is Wrong.” She used the power of the needle and thread to bring people from different backgrounds together. She continued her deep interest in music, playing and performing her viola da gamba in and around Cambridge. As she got older and was unable to quilt or play her gamba anymore, she continued to host her former students and to foster her art of loving and of human connection. She was a loyal letter writer to many of her friends and family, using it as a forum to promote kindness and share stories.
She was a practical, elegant, warm-hearted and generous person. She is the sister of the late Latham Nichols, and is survived by her husband of 63 years, Dr. Rodrigo Botero, and by her sons Jaime Latham, Juan Bautista, and her daughter Luisa Elena. She is also survived by seven grandchildren and by her sister, Jane T. N. Fogg. A private service was held at Mount Auburn Cemetery on November 14th. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that we each perform an act of kindness in Louise's memory.
Her parents were Arthur A. and Mary C. Nichols of Weston, MA, where Louise grew up. She graduated from Wellesley College and worked in Boston until 1957, when she married Rodrigo Botero of Medellin, Colombia. She started her married life in Bogota and soon adapted to the language and culture of a new country. She quickly became a power in her community, teaching English on television, planting trees in her neighborhood, raising money for scholarships and nurseries for children in need, and forming sewing circles to provide clothing to local shelters. An accomplished musician, she founded and directed Hausmusik, an early music group specializing in works from the Colonial, Renaissance and Baroque periods.
She and her husband, a former Finance Minister of Colombia, and founder of Fedesarrollo, a leading Latin-American economic and social research center, moved to Cambridge, where she honed her sewing skills and became a master quilter. She taught the spouses of international students at Harvard Neighbors for 18 years. Her standards were the highest in technique and in aesthetic quality, living up to the Nichols Company motto: “Anything Almost Right, Is Wrong.” She used the power of the needle and thread to bring people from different backgrounds together. She continued her deep interest in music, playing and performing her viola da gamba in and around Cambridge. As she got older and was unable to quilt or play her gamba anymore, she continued to host her former students and to foster her art of loving and of human connection. She was a loyal letter writer to many of her friends and family, using it as a forum to promote kindness and share stories.
She was a practical, elegant, warm-hearted and generous person. She is the sister of the late Latham Nichols, and is survived by her husband of 63 years, Dr. Rodrigo Botero, and by her sons Jaime Latham, Juan Bautista, and her daughter Luisa Elena. She is also survived by seven grandchildren and by her sister, Jane T. N. Fogg. A private service was held at Mount Auburn Cemetery on November 14th. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that we each perform an act of kindness in Louise's memory.