Nikki Martin Obourn (Wilson)

Nikki M. Obourn passed away Friday, September 15, 2017 at the age of 74.

Nikki was born June 1, 1943 at Fitzsimmons Army Hospital in unincorporated Adams County, Colorado To C.B. and Dixie Wilson. She was the older of two daughters. Her father was an Air Force officer, and Nikki spent her childhood traveling around the world as a “military brat.” She attended 10 different schools before graduating high school in Goldsboro, North Carolina in 1961. She attended the University of Colorado at Boulder for 3 years before returning to Bethesda Maryland in 1964 to live with her family and work in Washington D.C. as a member of Lyndon Johnson’s campaign team. Hard to believe in this day and age, but in 1964, the whole campaign team consisted of 6 people, all of whom had daily access to the President-elect, the First Lady and the White House. Quite an initiation into the working world for a 21-year-old right out of school.

After Johnson’s successful inauguration, she moved back to Denver in 1965 where she worked for many years as a legal secretary and administrative assistant. She married Hugh Martin in 1968 and lived in Evergreen and commuted to Denver for work until this marriage ended in divorce in 1981. During that time, she became the youngest (and only the 3 ^rd ) woman in Colorado to receive her stockbroker’s license from the NYSE and the SEC. Subsequently, she alternated jobs as a legal secretary and as an operations manager for various public and private brokerage firms. In 1983, she went to work for E.F. Hutton and became their operations manager for public finance. This was at the time the municipal bonds for the oil drilling in North Slope, Alaska were being funded, and the job required many trips to New York to entertain various members of the North Slope community who attended the bond closings.

In 1988, she met and married John L. Obourn, Sr. She never had children of her own, but inherited three grown stepchildren, John, Jr., Jeffrey and William. Nikki and John lived in Westminster for eight years before locating to Wray based on a tiny ad in the Denver Post. They had no idea where Wray was and knew not one soul in eastern Colorado. Both agreed, however, it was the best thing they ever did when they moved here in 1996 and bought the “house in the hole” from the Wolds. John had retired before moving, but Nikki worked in the local law office, first for Rob Dee and then for Margi Fix Seboldt for 15 years. She sat on the board of the East Yuma County Historical Society for a number of years. She and John were members of the Wray United Methodist Church where she was known as the Pied Piper for 11 years of weekly children’s sermons. She also served on the Administrative Board, the Council of Ministries at church and was active in the United Methodist Women, serving as treasurer for many years and on the “funeral dinner” committee. She served as president of the local Rotary club twice and participated in Rotary for many years. She served on the Board of Trustees for the Wray Public Library for 19 years (since 1998) and if you asked her, her proudest accomplishment was heading up the drive to expand the Wray Public Library. It took 10 years, but the end result was well worth the blood, sweat and tears expended by all. She was a founding member of Friends of the Library and served as an officer for most of her years in that organization. After retiring in 2011, she spent many hours volunteering at Manna Pantry which she helped to organize that year. She loved to knit and read, usually at the same time, and spent many hours knitting afghans for gifts or baby hats and blankets for the hospital and teaching others to knit.

Nikki is survived by her husband, John Obourn, Sr.; her sister, Gale Robb of St. Paul, Minnesota, one nephew, Richard Robb; and one niece, Hannah Kuhn; three step-children, John Jr. (Mikel); Jeffrey (Kim) and William (Elizabeth); and seven grandchildren, Stuart, Alexandra, Thomas, Abigail, Mary Margaret and twins, Austin and John III.

A Memorial Service will be held on Monday, September 25, 2017, 10:00 a.m. at the Wray United Methodist Church in Wray, Colorado with Pastor Ben Wentworth officiating.

Memorials may be made to the Wray United Methodist Church Library, 500 Blake Street, Wray, Colorado 80758. Cremation was requested. Schmidt - Jones Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.