Nicole Marie (Axthelm) Tidwell

Nicole Marie (Axthelm) Tidwell burst into the world on June 11, 1990 like a shining new star. Sparkling bright and full of light. Her parents, Tiffany and Michael, were amused by her exuberant personality: a perfect mix of the two of them. Spit fire and sass, sparkle and shine.

As a child Nicole loved spending time with her father, and siblings, Michael and Christina, in Mount Vernon for the summers. Her brother Michael taught her to love adventures, and if you ever spent even 5 minutes with her, you knew you were about to have an epic adventure at any given moment.

Christina and Nicole were a set of "twins in disguise", sharing friends, cheerleading and even parenting experiences. When her new baby sister, Sarah, was born she was over the moon excited. Nicole took the role of older sister seriously through babysitting, celebrating accomplishments, sharing jokes and even becoming neighbors.

The melody in her heart often exploded out of her through the music she loved. From performing in high school musicals, playing the piano and clarinet, busting out into spontaneous song mid-sentence or even while she cleaned her house, Nicole loved music. It resonated deep within her soul.

Nicole's world expanded when she married Paul Tidwell on December 2nd, 2010. She called him, "her greatest love, her ride or die, her heart and soul, her number 1." The two of them decided to make their world even brighter with the addition of Lehr and Fenix. She loved being a mother and believed it was her most important job. The light that shone within her was the heart of the family.

After being away from her childhood home for many years, she and her family moved back to Baraboo in the year 2019. Nicole got involved with the community in the same way she entered this world; loud and full of life. She loved helping the people around her; often making gifts, volunteering her time, and looking for ways that she could bring happiness to the world.

After getting a degree in social work, she became the director of the Baraboo Area Homeless Shelter. Her dream of helping people every day, soon became her reality. When she wasn't working at the shelter, she was spending time with the people who meant the most to her. She loved everyone, but had a deep affection specifically for the members of her tribe in Queers and Allies, and her Pie Night Posse.

Nicole's light shined bright every day that she walked this earth. She was fierce. She was loyal. She loved deeply and quickly. She had the best laughter and could light up the room just by entering it. She was unapologetically authentic and she was not afraid to be exactly who she was.

She was a true star, but like all stars, sometimes the best ones go dark too early, and the world becomes a bit duller.

Our sparkly girl is gone for now, but will never be forgotten. If you seem to lose a sense of who she was, just look to the stars and see her shining there.

Shine on you crazy diamond, shine on.

Preceded by Great-grandparents: Jacqueline and William H. Cook, Lela and George Bultez, Malvin "Mike" and Erma Axthelm. Grand-fathers: James Axthelm and Robert Gunyan. Cousin Ashlee Zimmer and niece Sloan Tidwell

Survived by her loving husband Paul and her 2 sons Lehr and Fenix. Mother Tiffany Gunyan-Hartman and father Michael Axthelm. Sisters Christina Matzl (Steve), Sarah Natov (Hristo), brother Michael Axthelm, and nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 16, 2022 at 1 pm at Redlin-Ertz Funeral Home with Father Dave Mowers officiating. Visitation will be held on Saturday from 11:30 am until the time of service at the funeral home.