Nicola Proven

Nicola Ann "Nickie" Proven died on Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Des Moines, Iowa.  Nickie was born September 14, 1942, in Osage, Iowa to Aloysious "Al" and Rosan Salz as the eldest of four children.  She grew up in Mason City, graduated from Holy Family High School and attended Clarke College in Dubuque for a short time.  She then moved to Des Moines and worked for Northwestern Bell until she met her first husband, William "Bill" Gould.  The next years she spent as a homemaker and a mother for three children.

As her children grew up, she decided to return to college.  At DMACC she earned an associate's degree.  In 1995, she completed a BA in History and English cum laude at Drake University. As a Drake student she traveled to Cuba and Honduras; she followed up by traveling around Europe.

Nickie's working years were spent as an advocate for seniors, both in their homes and in long term care.  She founded and managed a non-profit to serve that population.

Later, Nickie decided to spend a year in Santa Fe studying holistic health and massage therapy.  She traveled to Europe again and to Southeast Asia, including Nepal and Tibet.  She realized how little of the United States she had seen, so she purchased an RV and joined an RV women's group she found on the Internet.  She attended RV rallies across the country for several years.

On one of these RV trips she met her second husband, Donn Proven.  They married in 2010 and moved to Eagle River, Wisconsin, renovating a lake house and becoming a vacation destination for everyone they knew.  They lived there until early 2017 when they returned to Iowa due to Donn's declining health and the need to be closer to family in Des Moines.  Donn passed away in 2019.

Nickie is survived by her sister, Cindy (Dennis) Boyd of St. Charles, IA; her three children, Deanna (James) Srail of Johnston, IA, Steve Gould and John (Yashodha) Gould of Ankeny, IA; her grandchildren Jennifer (Corey) Brown, Nicole (Caleb) Jordan, Katherine Srail, Julie Srail, Ryan Srail, Charlotte Gould and Henry Gould; four great-grandchildren; her sisters-in-law Dolores Salz and Shirley Salz; and Bill Gould.  She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Donn, and her two brothers Doug Salz and Allyn Salz.

A memorial will be scheduled at a later date.  In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the Scottish Rite Park Employee Fund or a local chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.