Nicole Balant, 70, died peacefully in her home in Damariscotta on Saturday evening, April 13, 2024. She grew up in Chester County, Pa. and was a graduate of The Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr, Pa. She completed a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Bryn Mawr College and a master’s degree in technical writing at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. Over the years she built a career as a skilled freelance copy editor with a focus on academic works published by university presses.
She is survived by her mother, Doris Balant; her siblings, Mark Balant (Patti Balant), Anne Balant-Campbell (Bruce Campbell), and Claudia Balant (Jay Ansill); two nieces, Elise Balant (Marc Weber) and Laura Ansill; and four nephews, Jonathan and Daniel Balant, and Ben and Eli Campbell.
Nicole loved music and nature and animals, especially her dogs, Pauli and Echo. She was intensely interested in the work of Marc Bekoff in ecology and evolutionary biology, and of the primatologist Frans DeWaal. She cared deeply for her family and was thoughtful, supportive, and kind to her friends as well as the online communities with which she interacted.
A celebration of life will be held on Sunday, Aug. 4 at 1 p.m. at the Midcoast Friends Meeting House, 77 Belvedere Road, Damariscotta. Donations in Nicole’s memory may be made to Central Lincoln County YMCA, P.O. Box 787, Damariscotta, ME 04543 or to the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition at ovarian.org.
Arrangements are under the direction and care of the Strong-Hancock Funeral Home, 612 Main St., Damariscotta, ME 04543. Condolences, and messages for her family, may be expressed by visiting stronghancock.com.
