Nicole L. Fahy (Osterhaus) of Asheville, North Carolina, was one of the most memorable people you could meet. Baristas, PTA parents, and even strangers would meet her once, then months or years later remember the conversation they had with her, where they met, and much more.
Sadly, we are now left with only her memory. On March 20, 2016, Nicole slipped away from us all far too soon from cancer at the age of 41.
Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Nicole was proud of her upper-Midwest roots, and Little House on the Prairie childhood. From a very early age, Nicole knew she would pursue a career in psychology and counseling. After earning her bachelor’s degree in under four years from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, she relocated to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she earned her master’s degree in counseling from Southwestern College.
As a licensed professional counselor, she took great joy in working with her clients, helping them find their own paths to happiness. Practicing first in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and then in Door County, Wisconsin, she developed a therapy style all her own. Upon relocating to Asheville in 2008, Nicole worked as the outpatient therapist for Tapestry, a residential program for women with eating disorders, and opened her own practice. Through her years as a counselor, Nicole helped change the lives of hundreds of individuals struggling through life’s hardships, and made the world an unquestionably better place.
A lifelong love of music took Nicole on international adventures playing the viola in her high school orchestra, and on further adventures as she followed the Grateful Dead for several summers during college.
However, the true joy of her life was her children. After having lost their their first child, Zoe Moon Fahy, at only three days old, Nicole and her husband Scott had two sons — Aidan, 12, and Noah, 10. Nicole threw herself into the role of mother with the same enthusiasm, joy, and hard work with which she approached everything else in life. She hand-made Halloween costumes, baked bread, took day trips to the beaches in Door County, never growing tired of her children. It was “Mama and her boys” bounding over country roads, singing songs from Les Miserables or cheesy 80’s songs, and laughing the whole way.
When Nicole learned of her illness she had a simple request: I want to travel through Europe with the boys. After a successful fundraiser, Nicole and Scott took their sons to Paris, London, Edinburgh, and Dublin. The goal of the trip was to make memories that would last the test of time for her children. That is precisely what they did. Despite being ill, and in pain, Nicole relied upon those strong Midwestern roots to “rally” every day to see the Louvre, tour London, or visit a castle in Ireland.
Nicole now joins her late daughter, Zoe, while sadly leaving behind Aidan and Noah, as well as her husband of over 14 years, Scott Fahy. She is also survived by her parents, Steven and Kathleen Osterhaus of Sister Bay, Wisconsin, her sister Theresa Qualls (Osterhaus) and brother-in-law Nathan Qualls, niece Anna and nephew Oliver, of DePere, Wisconsin, as well as in-laws Kevin and Clare Fahy of Sauquoit, New York, sisters-in-law Kristin Fahy of Arlington, Virginia, and Allison Ryan (Fahy) and brother-in-law Robert Ryan, nephews Colin and Daniel, and niece Nora of New Hartford, New York. Nicole will be missed dearly by her incredible circle of friends, including Ana Lisa Corson, Lori Cole, Lisa Keith, and Mary Prohaska, among many, many others.
Memorial services will be held May 7, 2016, at Brahma Ridge Event Center in Candler, North Carolina, at 2:00 p.m. Ever concerned with the wellbeing and ongoing care of her boys, Nicole asked that donations continue to be made through the Fahy Family Support Fund.