Celebrating the life of
Nicola Harper
A great song or artist has the power to raise many a fond memory. For Nicola, it was Rod Stewart and Tina Turner who harnessed that power, always leading her to the dancefloor, whether it was a party or night out, or simply a boogie in the kitchen.
A treasured family holiday that hinged on a visit to see George Benson in concert went down in history as a favourite; everyone who knew Nicola knew she loved to dance, and she loved life.
Finding the fun in every situation and the good in every person was Nicola’s strength. “Be kind, it costs nothing”, was her approach in life, reflected in her close group of friends and family, who were a great source of pride to her.
Born on August 1, 1963 to Margaret and John Scott, Nicola was one of four, baby sister to her elder siblings Jacqueline, Pamela and Graham. In 1984 she met her soul mate Jim, with the two of them settling down in Portlethen and welcoming their son Scott in 1994 and daughter Ailsa in 1998.
The four of them enjoyed holidays to Disneyland in Florida and Paris and closer to home at Centre Parcs, with a traditional camping trip to Alford which would mark the start of the summer holidays each year.
Supportive and loving friends were always close by, from childhood friends to the colleagues who became lifelong friends through Nicola’s various jobs, of which her favourite was acting as the “Road Safety Wifey” at Grampian Police.
In 2020 Nicola applied to be a model in Friends of ANCHOR’s Courage on the Catwalk event, where her warmth, honesty and grace made a lasting impression on everyone involved.
You can shed tears that she is gone, or you can smile because she has lived. You can close your eyes and pray that she will come back, or you can open your eyes and see all that she has left.
Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her, or you can be full of the love that you shared.
You can turn your back on tomorrow or live yesterday, or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
You can remember her and only that she is gone, or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.
You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back, or you can do what Mum would have wanted: Smile, open your eyes, love and go on.
Nic as we all know just loved being a mum to Scott & Ailsa and was as devoted to Jim as he clearly was to her. She was at her happiest simply being around her tribe and loved nothing more than spending time with them all. It really pained me to watch this incredible woman endure these last two years of what I believe was constant pain and discomfort. But whenever I would visit Nic she never complained once and you’d always be greeted by that lovely warm smile, and she’d always want to hear what was happening with YOU. I know you read of people being strong and how they deal with adversity, but to me she was the definition of a bloody strong woman.
I, like many others who cherished having this lovely soul in our lives, was beyond sad and grief stricken when the fight was over for her. My heart as always goes out to all of Nic's family and in particular Jim, Scott & Ailsa. If there is any comfort I can offer to them, it is that the legacy of this special woman is that she was truly LOVED by so many. She may be gone but will never be forgotten. I miss you dear friend. X.
Such amazing memories growing up along side Ailsa and her family. From joining them on camping trips, football trips and T in the Park. Nicola was just an amazing woman! Got to laugh back at the memories of Ailsa and I calling Nicola ‘Mum’ excessively while at Pittodrie so everyone would think we were sisters, or when I’d go round to the Harper’s to ‘practice violin’, you could always bet Nicola would come upstairs laughing saying “I don’t hear much practice going on!” as we’d be doing anything but practicing violin!
The best yet though has to be Nicola warning us before our T in the Park trip that she’d put Bacardi in a Evian water bottle and labelled it “Bev-ian” so not to drink it thinking it’s water! Only to go on 10 minutes later swigging that Bevian bottle thinking it was water! Gave us all a right laugh even to this day! A great great loss, but so many happy memories she has left with us all!
Nicola was guaranteed to turn up beaming, with a combo of matching bag, nails, shoes and scarf, or all four. She always looked FAB. She was such a kind and warm person and had a great sense of humour, she had a knack for a dirty joke which would always result in a rippling and infectious laugh that filled a room.
She loved her kids and Jim. Part of our catch ups were always hearing about what holidays or trips were coming up, or just back from, and once a year waiting see the famous Harper Christmas jigsaw/Lego build reveal…. A tradition which some of us went on to pinch!
One of our lasting memories, is from a train trip we all took to Inverness for a day of shopping, cocktails and then home again. Following breakfast and fizz on the train, we arrived and were ushered by Nic, up to Primark to look for a jacket she was after; you guessed it - to match a pair of boots she’d bought. Here we all are, trying to find it in amongst the rummle, one of us finally shouting ‘here’ like we were in a bingo hall, when we spotted it! We always had a laugh about that day and how a few of us also left Primark with that same jacket!! We thought a lot about what to write here, but what sums things up best is quite simply: we miss you Nicola and wherever you are we hope you have on a fab pair of heels.
In celebration of Nicola's life, her family welcomes you to share memories or a message of how her life impacted yours.
Donations made in loving memory of Nicola are welcomed by her family and will be gratefully received by Friends of ANCHOR, with every penny going directly to the cause.