Nicole Rudd

Nicole Cardoso Ayres Rudd was born in the little town of Antibes, France, on October 4th, 1924. Both her parents were accomplished artists in their own right: her Brazilian father Luis was a sculptor and diplomat, and her French mother Blanche sang opera. 

Nicole's youth was spent in dance and art classes, both of which played a major role in her life's trajectory. In addition to art, Nicole was a beautiful and accomplished model, working for French designer Christian Dior in Paris, and she won the 1953 Miss Mediterranean beauty pageant. By 1954, Nicole was a dancer in the Ballet de Monte-Carlo troupe, when she visited a US Naval aircraft carrier docked off the glamorous coast of Cannes, meeting and later marrying a Navy pilot named Gerald Rudd, with whom she was to spend the rest of her life. Jerry and Nicole married in 1956, beginning their married life in Washington DC, where Jerry was a graduate student at George Washington University, and they were blessed with two children, Christiane and Derek. A few years later they moved to Boise, where Jerry accepted a position with a growing grocery store company named Albertsons. In Boise, Nicole was a beloved fashion merchandising and personal development teacher at the ITT Technical Institute in Boise for 18 years. During the same period, she was also a founding member of the Boise International Club, which served as a gathering point for the international crowd in town, as well as sponsoring American students studying abroad, and foreign students studying at Boise State University. 

In 1981, Nicole and Jerry built a new villa on her existing family property La Corniche, overlooking Antibes and Golfe Juan, on the French Riviera. Over the years, La Corniche become the site of many celebratory occasions with friends and family. Jerry and Nicole loved traveling the globe, visiting Europe, South America, and Asia, taking many trips with their children and grandchildren. Throughout all of Nicole's life, she loved her many pets, and her favorite personal hobby was painting. She was very talented, and many of her portraits and paintings grace people's homes in Boise and abroad. Nicole is survived by her husband, Gerald Rudd, her children Christiane Rudd and Derek Rudd, her grandchildren Jared Rudd and Ryan Rudd, and her great grandchildren Violet, Emery, and Margot. In caring for Nicole, we were greatly aided by the Home Instead staff. We ask that in lieu of flowers, you make a donation to the charity of your choice in Nicole's name. At her request, there will be no funeral, but we will be holding a Celebration of Life party.

As her grandson put it: "Nicole always knew how to make us laugh, even in tough times. She was a light in the world, and made it a better place. While she had many accomplishments, the most important thing to her was her family, who will miss her and her smile. Till we meet again."