Nikki Chamberlin

Nikki Franzese Chamberlin (nee Nikki-Lyn), 65, passed away at home surrounded by loving family on Monday, September 15, 2014 after a 16-year battle with breast cancer.  She was born on December 2, 1948 in Flushing, Queens, NY to the late E. Edward and Georgia Nola (Likely) Franzese.

Nikki was a 1966 graduate of the prestigious Bronx High School of Science, and a 1970 graduate of Dickinson College majoring in Biology and Religion.  While on a biology field trip to the Okefenokee Swamp, she met her husband of 44 years, Dean Edwin Chamberlin.  They were married August 1, 1970.

In addition to her husband, her memory is kept alive by her three daughters; Jessicka Guild Chamberlin of New York, NY, Rebecca Lyn Whigham, husband G. Lane and granddaughter Josephine Maifair of Carlisle and Virginia Likely Chamberlin and fiancé Bryan Vagnarelli of Lancaster, PA; her nephew, Ben Elton Chamberlin and wife Jennifer; and grand nephews and nieces, Morgan Allen, Anna Elizabeth, Elise Katherine, and Mark Foster. She is also survived by her brother, Robert John Franzese and wife Valerie and sister-in-law, Jan Chamberlin Clemens and husband Charlie.  She had 5 nieces, 1 nephew, 5 grandnieces and 1 grandnephew.   In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her brother, Edward E. Franzese Jr. and brother-in-law, Mark Elton Chamberlin.

Nikki was a 39-year employee of Highmark Blue Shield where she worked as a senior program design manager. Equally, she was the proprietor of the Barn Christmas Shop, which would have been in its 25 ^th year this Christmas.  Nikki was an avid reader, gardener, cook, and canner.  For leisure, she loved spending time with family and friends while boating on the Nola Maifair in the Chesapeake Bay. She participated in the Big Spring Athletic Boosters, was active in supporting the Democratic Party, and contributed to various non-profit organizations that fought social inequity and buoyed environmental causes.  In her retirement years, she found passion in working with Education Matters in the Cumberland Valley to combat educational inequities among area school districts.

A Celebration of Life Visitation with her family and friends is scheduled on Saturday, September 20, 2014 from 2-5 PM at Hollinger Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc., 501 N. Baltimore Avenue, Mount Holly Springs, PA 17065.  Services will be private and at the convenience of the family.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to the Jill Sunday Bartoli Campaign, at Friends of Jill Sunday Bartoli, P.O. Box 864, Carlisle, PA 17013. Online condolences to the family may be made to www.hollingerfuneralhome.com