Nikki Ann Schuller Purcell began her next big adventure when she passed away peacefully on October 29, 2021, surrounded by her family, and joyfully greeted by her son Andy , who was waiting with open arms on the other side.

Daughter of Harold Charles Schuller and Ann Podovinikoff, Nikki Ann was born October 3, 1947, weighing a mere 3 1/2 lbs, and joined her sister Diane in the beach house in Ventura, CA. Nikki grew up playing in the sunshine and waves of southern California, and has always considered herself a beach girl. As a young girl she enjoyed swimming competitively with her Aunt Irene's swimming school, baton twirling, and going for drives along the coastal highway with her father in his Porsche.

After high school, Nikki joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and moved to Provo, Utah to attend BYU. While at school she taught swimming, worked at ZCMI, and took an outdoor survival course that shaped the rest of her life and created lifelong friendships. Nikki became an outdoor survival instructor, taking students and youth into the wilds of southern Utah and having wonderful adventures. Around this time, she met Mark Purcell, who was also working with youth in a survival setting. Together, they created a summer camp at Sundance where they taught survival skills, botany, geology, ecology and conservation. They were married in August of 1972, and together had four children, who were raised to love music, books, adventure, and driving fast on dirt roads.

As she was raising her children, she became greatly involved with the Boy Scouts of America, and absolutely loved everything that had to do with the program. She had a neckerchief slide and a cheer for every occasion. Attending Woodbadge was a highlight of her life. Not to be outdone, the Young Women's organization of the church also benefitted from her unique skills, and called her as Young Women's Camp Certification director. During this time she led many backpacking trips and taught many young women the wonderful skills of orienteering, tuna can stoves, and how not to chop off one's toes with a newly sharpened axe.

While working at a local garden center Nikki completed a rigorous course with Utah State University Extension and become a Master Gardener. She has been a treasure trove of information and wisdom to her customers for the past decade. Nikki was filled with curiosity, and was enthusiastic about researching topics that her customers had questions about. If you were lucky, and inquired about the best fertilizer for your tomato plants or peonies, you may have been witness to her Fertilizer Dance " Up, Down, All Around".

Mostly, Nikki loved her family, and wanted to know about the lives of each of her children and grandchildren, and provide every simple thing she could for their happiness. We will miss her terribly, and all the things that made her quirky are the things that we will miss the most. She had a quiet impact on so many people's lives, and many that she knew and worked with have reached out with fond memories about her kindness and generosity. She was, without a doubt, absolutely one of a kind.

Nikki is survived by her sister Diane Hatley, son Scott Purcell and his wife Heidi, daughters Kimberly Purcell, Kara Lowder and her husband Brian, and former spouse Mark Purcell. Her Son Andy is with her now, driving down some dirt road with the dust billowing far behind...

A graveside service will be held on Saturday, November 6th at the Lehi City Cemetery. In Lieu of flowers, we ask you to share your memories, we would love to hear your stories about Nikki; a lasting gift that we will forever cherish.