Nicole Ann Darke

Bowling Green, Ohio. Nicole (Niki) was born on December 8, 1985 in Tecumseh, Mich., and passed away March 14, 2017 in Atlanta, Ga., at the age of 31. She graduated in 2004 from Columbia City High School in Columbia City, Ind.

Nicole is survived by her beautiful children, Jaden Faith Joanne Darke and Hunter Paul Kozlowicz of Bowling Green, Ohio; her loving parents, Ann and David Darke of Bowling Green, Ohio, and Daniel Ringman of Adrian, Mich.; her sisters, Brittni Darke of Tulsa, Okla., Andrea Ringman of Mantache, Miss., and Alexis Ringman of Detroit, Mich.; her grandparents, Fay Greene of Tecumseh, Mich., Kathleen and David Darke of Jacksonville, Fla., and Charles and Susan Ringman of Adrian, Mich.; her great-grandparents, Evelyn Boven of Pinellas Park, Fla., and Ralph Darke of Jacksonville, Fla.; her aunts and uncles, Daniel Greene of Virginia Beach, Va., James Greene of Britton, Mich., Mary Helen Hayes of Adrian, Mich., Suzanne Miller of Blissfield, Mich., Charles Greene of Reidsville, N.C., Tina Motley of St. Augustine, Fla., and Karen Dryer of West Virginia; and many extended family and friends.

She is preceded in death by her grandma, Joanne Greene; her cousins, Marcus Greene and Megan Hayes and grandparents.

Nicole loved her family and friends. Her smile was infectious and would light up any room. She enjoyed cooking and often fed the neighborhood. Her heart knew no bounds and took in three children and loved them as her own; Ja’wuan, Tayah and DayDay, along with her longtime boyfriend Malcon James. Nicole worked as a corrections officer at the Topeka Correctional Facility (2006-08) while married to Paul Kozlowicz, III. She was a talented artist and she traveled the country with her current boyfriend, Ira Collier, a long-haul truck driver. She enjoyed watching her daughter twirl her baton and her son play football and basketball. Above all, Nicole loved her children with all her heart.

Visitation for Nicole will be held on Friday, March 24, 2017 at the Tecumseh Chapel of Handler Funeral Homes from 5-8 p.m., with a prayer service at 7:30 p.m. A Memorial Mass will be held on Saturday, March 25, 2017 at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church at 11 a.m. with Fr. Daniel Wheeler as celebrant. Burial will follow at Lenawee Hills Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Nicole’s honor to her children’s education fund.

Condolences may be offered to the family at www.handlerfuneralhomes.com.