John Alexander “Jack” Nivison II

WINSLOW – John Alexander “Jack” Nivison II, of Winslow, whose four decades as a teacher, coach, and athletic director highlighted a lifetime of service to his hometown and its people, died April 9, 2026, after a period of declining health, with family by his side. He was 91 years old.

Born on Sept. 30, 1934, Jack was the eldest of John Campbell and Eleanor Traynor Nivison’s four children. The son, grandson, and great-grandson of papermakers, young Jack’s life was shaped by friendship, sport, and the rhythm of Winslow’s schools and paper mill. In his youth, Jack often chose to spend much of his summertime at the Bowden Street home of his grandparents, John Alexander and Margaret Campbell Nivison.

It was a fateful choice.

Under the gentle hand of his grandmother and the kind, watchful eye of his grandfather, Jack learned – of his family’s pride in their Scottish heritage, of the value of hard work and the joy of play, of the devotion in his grandparents’ partnership, and of service through quiet, steady example.

And in those summer months, Jack forged an unbreakable bond with his hometown. “I always wanted to be in town,” he would later remember of this choice. “I always wanted to be with my friends, playing ball.” For the entirety of his life, he would rarely be away from Winslow for any great length of time.

Graduating from Winslow High School in 1952 as a multi-sport athlete, he attended the University of Maine at Orono to train to become a teacher. There he immersed himself in the life of his fraternity, and he earned a varsity letter in track. Upon graduating in 1956, he began his teaching career at the Leavitt Institute, in Turner.

During his college years, he met Jo Ann Williams, of Waterville; they married on June 22, 1957.

They lived for a time in Waterville, when Jack realized his dream of teaching and coaching in his hometown of Winslow in 1957, while completing his service in the National Guard. Four years later, Jack, Jo Ann, and their young family took over the Nivison family home in Winslow, where Jack had spent so much formative time as a boy and young man, following the deaths of his cherished grandparents.

In 1971, Jack moved from Winslow’s High School to its Junior High School, where he continued to teach and coach. He later assumed the position of Athletic Director. In that role, he was one of a group of leaders who planned and executed an expansion of the town’s athletic complex, creating new experiences for its student-athletes. In recognition of his contributions to Winslow, the town christened the new varsity baseball field “John ‘Jack” Nivison Diamond upon his retirement in 1993.

Well-loved and kind-hearted, Jack strove to provide a warm and inviting classroom for his students. His gentle humor made his classrooms lighthearted places to learn, particularly for those who may not have known great success or joy in school.

Jack also enjoyed the respect and affection of his colleagues. He was a steady guide for those he mentored, and he empowered his fellow teachers with his calm demeanor and thoughtful guidance.

But he was also a bit mischievous. Quiet and soft-spoken, he was quick-witted and capable of colorful hijinks. Whenever a light prank was played in the teacher’s room at Winslow Junior High School, the prime suspect was often Jack Nivison. He reveled in his ability to elicit a laugh to brighten a friend’s day.

He was a character in the richest and best sense of the word. A habitual list-maker, he was often lost without his trusty 3×5 to-do notecard. He was unmatched in his ability to ask a simple, straightforward question in the most convoluted way imaginable. He took the same introduction to computers class a half dozen times in his retirement. He was fond of cold bean breakfast sandwiches the morning after a beans and hot dog supper. More than once did he drive around town oblivious to the family cat on the roof of the car.

Over the course of several summers, Jack worked alongside many other dedicated townspeople to restore Fort Halifax Park, the town’s most significant historic site. In his retirement, he assumed stewardship of the town’s athletic fields as their chief caretaker, mowing, lining, and watering playing surfaces from the earliest days of spring until late into the fall. He was impossible to miss as he traveled around town at 20 miles-per-hour on his bright orange, six-blade Jacobsen field mower, topped with his signature straw hat. His work and his personality made him a friend to many, far and wide.

Jack also returned to his coaching roots in his retirement, shepherding girls basketball teams at Winslow Junior High School for several years, and he embraced the role of unofficial town historian, collecting stories, photographs, and other records. In these years, Jack and Jo Ann became Winslow Field Hockey superfans, traveling the state to support (and feed with Jo Ann’s cookies) the teams coached by their daughter, Mary Beth.

For all of the goodness he extended to others, Jack saved the best of himself for his family.

Unsparingly generous, he was boundless in his devotion to his children. He was the model of persistent hard work, bestowing upon his family the same kind of warmth, resilience, and quiet grace that he had learned as a child. Jack and Jo Ann were a perfect match; her bottomless optimism and gratitude kept him anchored and routinely drew out his quirky humor. Together they built a true home for their children, a place with life and character. For 50 years, they filled their old family homestead with the warmth and comfort of neighbors, friends, classmates of their children and grandchildren, extended family from afar, and youngsters who spent their pre-school years within its walls.

Where family was concerned, there were no small moments for Jack, and he rarely missed an opportunity to capture his loved ones on film. Dozens of photo albums, slide shows, and 8mm film canisters labeled with his distinctive script speak to the value he placed on preserving such moments for the family record. These images, varied across a long stretch of time and a wide range of events, bear witness to Jack and Jo Ann’s greatest gift to their family: the enduring example of their generous and loving partnership.

Of all of the roles Jack embraced, none quite matched the one for which his grandparents had prepared him so well: that of Grampie to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Jack was a kid at heart, and he came alive in their presence. Nowhere was this more frequently on display than when they played games, shared coffee cake, watched a movie, sprawled out on the floor with toys, or vied for bragging rights on the wiffle ball field he created in the back yard. There was no end – or geographic limit – to which he would not go to bring smiles to their faces.

In the end, Jack’s story was destined to be inseparable from Jo Ann’s. Their final years together were marked by daily walks around the school grounds and visits with family and friends. As Jo Ann’s health declined due to Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia, Jack, incapable of any other response, selflessly cared for her and guarded her well-being. When she passed after more than 65 years of marriage, the brightest light in his life went out, and while he still warmed when visited by loved ones, it was clear that his love of Jo Ann was so deep that he simply did not know how to live fully without her. His passing, then, returns him to his best friend, and we are comforted by the faith that, as they prepare for their eternal stroll together, he is again asking her where he put his glasses.

In addition to Jo Ann, Jack was predeceased by his sister, Eleanor Nivison Norris.

Jack is survived by his children and their spouses, Jane and Dean Quirion of Winslow, John and Wendy Nivison of Winslow, Margaret and Thomas Baker of Keene, N.H., Marsha and Paul Pelletier of Williamsburg, Va., David and Asha Nivison of Madison, Tenn., Mary Beth and Jim Bourgoin of Winslow, and Kenneth and Kristen Nivison of Pembroke, N.H. He is also survived by his 18 grandchildren, Kevin Quirion and his fiancée Lindsey Welch of Sidney, Kristina Boudreau and her husband Joe of Lisbon, Lauren Nivison of South Portland, Jack Nivison and his wife Kate Seibold of Byfield, Mass., Colby Baker and his partner Matthew McGinnis of Watertown, Mass., Hillary Van Clief and her husband Dan of Wiscasset, Paul Pelletier and his wife Jessica of Midlothian, Va., Alex Pelletier of Williamsburg, Va., Patrick Pelletier and his wife Ashley of Roanoke, Va., Benjamin Pelletier and his wife Jessica of Union Bridge, Md., Austin Nivison and his wife Alli of Murfreesboro, Tenn., Hannah Scott and her husband Ryan of Greenbrier, Tenn., Olivia Nivison of Chicago, Ill., Sonali Hajari of Madison, Tenn., Conner Bourgoin of Waltham, Mass., Jo Ann Bourgoin of Portland, Campbell Nivison of Pembroke, N.H., and Caroline Nivison of Pembroke, N.H.; as well as 18 (soon to be 19) great-grandchildren.

He also leaves behind his sister, Nancy Nivison Soper and her husband Robert of Martinsville, Va., and his brother, Kenneth Nivison of South China, as well as sisters-in-law Jane Williams of Nashua N.H., and Jeanne Williams of Rocky River, Ohio; and many nieces and nephews.

The family would like to thank Beacon Hospice and Lakewood Healthcare for their care of Jack in his final months.

A Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Saturday, May 2, at 11 a.m., at St. John the Baptist Church in Winslow, followed by a reception in the Parker Reed Room at the Schair-Swenson-Watson Alumni Center, Colby College.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to

Winslow Field Hockey Boosters

c/o Winslow High School

20 Danielson St.

Winslow, ME 04901