CORNELIA, Ga. — Just one day after the community rallied around Kathy Nicholson in her battle with liver cancer, friends and listeners are now mourning the woman whose voice, warmth and faith touched so many lives. The longtime WCON radio personality died early Sunday, Oct. 4. She was 56.
Friends and colleagues are remembering Nicholson for the grace, wit and enduring faith with which she faced life’s hardships, including the heartbreaking loss of her daughter, Hannah Nicholson Gabrels, to MRSA in 2014.
For more than a decade, Nicholson’s love of broadcasting brought her into the homes and lives of WCON listeners. In announcing her death, her colleagues at the Cornelia station said she treasured opportunities to meet and connect with them, building relationships that extended far beyond the microphone.
“Her faith, her voice and her warm spirit have made a lasting impact on our station and on the lives of so many,” her colleagues shared.
A lifetime of connecting with others
The daughter of a preacher, Nicholson graduated from Habersham Central High School in 1987, earned an associate degree from Toccoa Falls College and later graduated from Piedmont College with a degree in mass communications and a minor in religion.
Her broadcasting career began as a teenager at WCHM in Clarkesville. She later worked at WRAF in Toccoa before spending many years at WCON/Habersham Broadcasting in Cornelia.
A gifted singer, Nicholson also expressed her deep Christian faith through music. She loved to sing and tell others about Jesus and was a faithful member of The House of Prayer Church in Mount Airy.
Her faith remained central through personal tragedy, including Hannah’s illness and death.
Friends remember her faith and kindness
Diagnosed with cancer in May 2024, Nicholson shared her courageous battle against the disease with her friends and fans online. Her posts included uplifting messages and songs, which she shared until just days before her death.
The tributes following news of her passing reflect the sorrow of loss and the comfort friends find in the faith Nicholson openly shared.
“What a precious friend you were to so many!” Irene Bynum Faith wrote on Facebook. “Your walk on earth has been one of faith, trust and obedience!”
“I’m so sad she passed, and I will miss her terribly,” said Teresa Jones. “I always loved to listen to her, and then when I met her I knew I had met a forever friend.”
Nicholson’s passing follows the recent death of another well-known and beloved WCON personality, the Rev. Billy Burrell. Nicholson shared a sweet moment with her friend and former colleague from his bedside, days before he passed. Her WCON colleagues are now asking the community to keep Nicholson’s family, loved ones, and friends in their prayers.
“While we grieve her loss, we find joy and comfort in knowing she is in the arms of Jesus, and we are grateful for the years we had to work alongside her,” they said.
Funeral services are scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7, at McGahee-Griffin & McEntire Funeral Home in Cornelia.
Kathy Conley Nicholson obituary
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