Brattleboro, VT – Joann Edith Heselton Nichols, 80, of Chestnut Street, Brattleboro died peacefully at Pine Heights Rehabilitation Center on Sunday afternoon, May 22, 2011, following a brief illness. Joann was born on December 1, 1930 in Tinmouth, Vermont at the home of her maternal grandparents, Leon and Clara Gilman. She was raised in Bridgewater, Vermont by her parents, Ward and Gladys Heselton, and graduated in 1948 from Woodstock High School, Woodstock, Vermont. Joann was employed in Brattleboro by the Holstein Friesian Association of America, Brattleboro Trust Company, Gates Insurance Agency, Marlboro College, and the law office of John A. Rocray. She was married to Alaric George Nichols on October 6, 1973 at Centre Congregational Church, Brattleboro, Vermont. She joined Centre Congregational Church, United Church of Christ on April 7, 1955, and served for the next 56 years as a church school teacher, church clerk, historian, and member of Deacons, Christian education, and Member Care. Joann was also a member of many genealogical and historical societies. She was a charter member of the Genealogical Society of Vermont in 1971 and was president from 1975-1993. She published the genealogy of Giles Roberts of Scarborough, Maine, and compiled Index to Known Cemetery Listings in Vermont, the third edition which was published in 1995 by the Vermont Historical Society. For several years she was a member of the Brattleboro Historical Society. Joann is survived by two brothers: Leon Heselton and his wife, Emmy, of Frankfort, New York, and Elroy Heselton, and his wife Betty, of Quechee, Vermont, and many nieces and nephews. Joann was predeceased by two sisters: Blanche Hurlburt Marro of Mt. Holly, Vermont, and Hilda Heselton Bartucca of Bristol, Connecticut; and her husband, Alaric, who died on May 18, 1991 in Brattleboro. Funeral services in celebration of her Joann's life will be conducted Wednesday at 4:00 PM at Centre Congregational Church with Rev. Carra Bradt, pastor, officiating. A reception and time of fellowship will follow the service in the church parlor. Friends are invited to call at the church for a visitation from 2:00 PM until the start of the services. Burial will take place on Friday, June 17 at 2:00 PM at Meetinghouse Hill Cemetery in Brattleboro. Memorial contributions in Joann's name may be made to Centre Congregational Church, 193 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301 or Brattleboro Historical Society, 230 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301.