Born:

Mary Nichols Miracle Plante—known as Nickie—of Oak Ridge, died on 10 December 2008.
Nickie was born at home on 31 March 1933 to Marian Agnes “Mary Anne” Justice Miracle and Clarence “Mike” Miracle in Manchester, Kentucky. She spent her early years in Pineville, Kentucky. In December 1942, the family moved to Norris, Tennessee when her father, a civil engineer, was assigned to a team laying out what would be the city of Oak Ridge. Her mother was a teacher in the Oak Ridge school system when it opened in the fall of 1943. Although the family remained in Norris throughout World War II, they moved into Oak Ridge shortly after the war ended when housing became available. As her family was involved in Oak Ridge from its inception, Nickie considered herself a native of Oak Ridge.
Nickie graduated from Oak Ridge High School in 1950 and briefly attended Tusculum College in Greenville, Tennessee. In 1954, Nickie married Joseph J. Plante, a career U.S. Air Force serviceman. For 19 years, Nickie enjoyed life and adventures as a U.S. Air Force wife and went on to live at Lockbourne AFB, Ohio and Kirtland AFB, New Mexico. In 1958, Nickie discovered that her mother was right—she should have studied French rather than Spanish in high school—when she went to live at Evreux-Fauville Air Base in France for three years. Nickie quickly set about learning French so that she could shop in town as well as play bridge and socialize with French friends and acquaintances.
Nickie also lived in Mount Holly and McGuire AFB, New Jersey--returning to Oak Ridge each summer to continue her education. She graduated from University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1966. She then lived in Oak Ridge and taught at Norwood Elementary School in Anderson County, Tennessee for a year while her husband served in Vietnam. She next lived at Fort Bragg and Pope AFB, North Carolina. Nickie and her family later lived on Andersen AFB in Guam. Following a second assignment to Pope AFB, she and her family returned to live in Oak Ridge in 1972. She lived in Oak Ridge until her death.
Nickie enjoyed playing bridge, cooking, reading, sewing, swimming, watching football, and traveling. She loved parties, reunions, and pecan pie. Nickie talked to everyone she met and is known for her generosity. She was a volunteer for several organizations including Glenwood Elementary School, Oak Ridge Inter-club and Oak Ridge High School swim teams, Methodist Medical Center, Community Action Commission, and Oak Ridge Public Library, among others. She taught English to immigrants and reading to adults. She was a long time member of the Oak Ridge Women’s Club and enjoyed activities at the Oak Ridge Senior Center. Nickie was the third of five generations of her family to live in Oak Ridge and to belong to St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church.
Her father, her mother, and her brother William Justice Miracle preceded her in death.
She is survived by her husband of 54 years, Joseph Plante, their daughter, Lisa Plante, and their granddaughter, Jemina Plante. A son, Chris Plante and his children, Anna Kemper and Erik Plante, also survive her. In addition, her sister Pat Miracle Millenbruch, nieces Michelle Millenbruch Dennison and Kathy Miracle Lawson, as well as nephew Charlie Miracle survive her, as do several great nieces and nephews.
The burial service will be held at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Oak Ridge, Tennessee at one o’clock in the afternoon on Tuesday, 16 December 2008. The service will begin in the nave and conclude in the memorial garden. A reception will follow in the church undercroft. In lieu of flowers, her family requests that donations be made to St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church.