Ann Louise Nickel-Swinkey

Ann Louise Nickel-Swinkey, 67, of Monroe, died Friday March 21, 2025, in her home. Friends may call Monday March 31, 2025, from 2-7PM at Capaul Funeral Home, Ida, MI. She will lie-in-state at St. Paul United Methodist Church, Monroe, MI on Tuesday April 1, 2025, from 10AM until services at 11AM. Pastor Rey Mondragon will officiate. The burial will be in Roselawn Memorial Park, LaSalle, MI. 

Born November 18, 1957, in Monroe, MI, Ann was the daughter of Howard and Edna (McDermott) Nickel. She was a proud farmer’s daughter and a 1975 graduate of Ida High School. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in arts from Adrian College in 1979 and her Juris Doctor from the Toledo College of Law in 1983. After meeting through work at the prosecutor’s office, Ann married the love of her life, Kenneth Swinkey, on September 9, 1989, in St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Monroe, MI. Ann was a lawyer for over 30 years, practicing law with the Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office, Braunlich, Russow and Braunlich, and finally retiring as a sole practitioner in 2017.She was an active member of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, the State Bar of Michigan, Monroe County Bar Association, the Kiwanis Club of Monroe and the Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority until her passing.

Ann loved to travel and shared an affinity for national parks and wine tasting with her beloved husband and son. She was a lover of music, a self-proclaimed “band geek” who played clarinet, bass clarinet, and piano alongside an affinity for theater and quilting. She was an animal lover and showered her love on numerous pet cats and dogs. Throughout her life, she was an avid fan of the Detroit Tigers and both UM and MSU Football, never missing a game when her son was in the MSU Marching Band. Ann had a passion for genealogy and spent her retirement meticulously documenting her family history back hundreds of years and connecting with long-lost relatives.

Ann’s life was defined by her courage, her compassion, and her famously stubborn will to live each moment to its fullest. A two-time breast cancer survivor, Ann lived every day like it could be her last. Her home was more than a house; it was the family hotel, where friends and relatives gathered to share laughter, memories, and her favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. She was a tireless advocate for children in the legal system, for whom she worked to represent throughout her career. She enthusiastically embraced the vows of the United Methodist Church, and lived a life full of prayers, presence, gifts, and service to others. She was a listener and a giver of her love and of her time and could lighten any room with her warmth, humor, and her frank advice. There are no words adequate to describe the indelible mark she left on the people she knew.

She is survived by her husband, Kenneth; son, Joseph (Cassidy Uchman) Swinkey; brothers-in-law, Joseph (Linda) Swinkey, Edward Swinkey, Frank (Jan) Swinkey, Paul (JoAnn) Swinkey; sisters-in-law, Mary Swinkey, Helen Swinkey and a former sister-in-law, Julie Bodell Gallagher. She was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, Thomas Nickel. Ann was blessed with many nieces and nephews, and was a great aunt to their children, whom she loved deeply. Her extended Nickel, DeLand, and Swinkey family meant the world to her.

Memorial contributions can be made to: St. Paul United Methodist Church, Monroe, MI.