Our beloved sister, Nicole Sprague, passed away peacefully at home on July 13th surrounded by her loved ones. She is preceded in death by her mother, Huguette Soffey, her father , Joseph Soffey, and her brother, Douglas Soffey. She is survived by her daughter, Martine; her sisters, Christine and Mary; her brother, Emmett; her nephew Brent; nieces Celine, Jaime, Elizabeth and Shannon. Nicole will be dearly missed by her family, friends, co-workers, and parishioners of Christ Church in Portola Valley, where she dedicated herself as church administrator.
While she enjoyed her duties at Christ Church, her great passion was aviation. Nicole first flew commuter jets throughout the northeast, where the harsh winters test a pilot’s skill and grit. She was soon offered a position with Swissair, and was quickly promoted to Captain, breaking the glass ceiling by entering a world that, at the time, was mostly dominated by men. During this time she lived in Alsace, France where she easily fit in as this was her Mother’s native country and Nicole spoke fluent French. In her spare time she often pulled gliders for fun and flew her 1947 Piper Cub airplane. She once flew her cub from Long Island, New York to Half Moon Bay, California with family friend Kenny Steger, crossing the entire country in a plane with no instruments. She was later hired to train pilots in the simulator at LaGuardia Airport in New York. Ultimately, she left commercial flying after her daughter was born so that she could focus on being a mom. We hope that she is soaring through the heavens in her plane, where she found such elation and freedom.
And if she’s not flying then surely she is cooking up some incredible feast that will wow the angels, or creating some heavenly garden surrounded by horses, dogs and cats, all of which she dearly loved.
Nicole had many talents. But more importantly, there was no one kinder, or more giving and who possessed such an incredibly generous heart. These traits endeared her to all who had the privilege to know her, even just a little. May we who live on in her shadow strive to be as kind and loving to others, as she was.
A memorial service will be held for Nicole on Monday, July 29th at 11:00 AM at Our Lady of the Wayside Catholic Church in Portola Valley. A reception will follow at Christ Church in Portola Valley at noon. All are welcome.
In lieu of flowers the family kindly requests donations to be made to either Our Lady of the Wayside or Christ Church.
