“She danced through our lives and into our hearts.
Life story
Nikki was born on January 10, 2005 in Media, PA. At the time of her birth, she had an older sister, Kylie, who was 3 1/2 years old. Kylie was an adoring big sister to Nikki. She was her protector from day one. About 17 1/2 months after Nikki was born, she became the big sister to Jessie. Just like her big sister did with her, Nikki instantly took on the role of big sister and protector to Jessie. From this moment, it was the Shelderfer girls against the world.
As a toddler, Nikki had jet black hair, beautiful blue eyes, and a spunky personality. People were always drawn to Nikki because she was very funny. When Nikki got mad, she would make a fist and call you an eyeball or a meatball. When Nikki was about 2.5 years old, she had a new speech therapist come out to the house to meet her. This speech therapist did not waste anytime getting to know Nikki, instead, she jumped right into telling Nikki what to do. Nikki was not fond of this and so as the demands increased, Nikki hauled off and kicked her. In another toddler moment, Nikki was taking swimming lessons at the YMCA. The teacher would sit all of the students on the side of the pool and bring one child in the water at a time. Nikki was not thrilled about swim lessons, so she would wait until the instructor got into the water with the first student and Nikki would jump up and run across the pool platform, laughing. The swim director was not happy about this and had a serious conversation with both Nikki and I about pool safety. Nikki thought it was so funny and continued to jump up and run across the pool area multiple times.
In addition to Nikki's spunky and sassy side, she was the sweetest little girl. She gave the best hugs. When Nikki was in elementary school, she began dance lessons. This turned into a life-long passion for Nikki. She would light up the stage when performing. Nikki tried many sports and activities over the years, but dancing remained her true love. Another love of Nikki's was fashion. Ever since she was little she had a love for clothing and looking stylish. Nikki's favorite store to shop in as a child was Justice. She would gravitate toward anything pink and sparkly. She had a love for dresses and fancy shoes. Nikki was such a unique kid that was always true to herself. She never tried to be like anyone else. In fact, she didn't really care what others thought of her style. She was unapologetically herself, in every aspect of her life, Nikki loved hair accessories. When she was little and I was trying to grow out her bangs, I bought her a bandana cap to wear to help keep the bangs out of her face. Well, this turned into part of Nikki's style when she was just a little girl. Nikki and Jessie wouldn't go anywhere without their bandanas. They actually convinced me to buy several different colors to match their outfits. Once their bangs grew out, they still wore them. As Nikki went into elementary school, she switched over to wearing tiaras, but throughout the years graduated to hair bows and flowers.
Nikki's depression started around 11 years old. From middle school on, Nikki battled anxiety and depression, but she continued to show up for her friends and family. After Covid, Nikki began doing online school at 21st Century. She did, however, participate in the TCHS preschool education program in the mornings and online school in the afternoons. Nikki began working at the Growing Place in high school. She LOVED this job and worked there for several years. She was absolutely adored by her students. Nikki graduated high school and began at IUP to pursue her education degree. After one year at IUP, Nikki transferred to West Chester and got an apartment with her sister Kylie. Nikki did very well in college and was well on her way to getting her special education degree.
Nikki had a love for creating TikTok videos, photography, travel, shopping, and Christmas. She would convince her family to create the most ridiculous videos. Nikki's Dad was usually the target as Nikki just loved getting a reaction out of him. She had an amazing talent of editing these videos and creating memories that we will have for a lifetime. Nikki's love for photography and travel went hand in hand. There was hardly ever a time when Nikki did not have her camera in her hand. She took the most beautiful pictures and had a remarkable talent of positioning people to make the most beautiful pictures. She had the travel bug. She loved going to new places and exploring. Our family is so grateful that we had the opportunity to experience so many places with Nikki. Nikki loved shopping. It was one of her favorite things to do. Traveling always gave her a reason to go shopping. This could be in person or online, it didn't matter. She not only loved shopping for herself, but she LOVED shopping for others. She knew people's styles and was able to pick out items that they would love. At Christmas, Nikki would create wish lists for each of her sisters and send them to her mom. Nikki knew that as the girls got older, it was harder for her mom to pick things out for her young adult children (that they would like). This is just another example of how thoughtful Nikki was. Every year, starting when Nikki was very young, Nikki and her mom would go on a birthday shopping trip. This continued right up through her very last birthday. Her very last shopping trip with her mom was just weeks before her passing. They had the most amazing day filled with love and laughter.
Nikki had the most beautiful soul. She truly cared deeply and went above and beyond for her loved ones.
Throughout high school and college, Nikki continued to struggle with depression. But she continued to fight for her life. She tried every therapy, every program, every treatment and facility that was recommended to her. She tried so hard to stay here. During the time that Nikki was fighting, she was still showing up for her friends and family. She was such a thoughtful person that was constantly doing kind gestures for others. It just got to be too much and her brain was telling her that it would never get better.
We took our very first vacation since Nikki passed. It was hard to think of planning a trip that would only be the 4 of us. But unfortunately this is the reality we are living in. It is sad. It is very hard. But this is what Nikki wanted us to do. So we continue to live. This doesn't mean it is easy. We sometimes break down at the most unlikely times. But that just means we love and miss her like crazy. We all notice the little things much more now. Every time we see pink our minds immediately go to Nikki. Whether it is a pink sunset, pink flowers, or a pink bus. It doesn't matter. If just represents the love we have for this beautiful soul.
We were due to go on a family cruise with the Shelderfer side of the family in June. Due to Nikki's passing, we decided we weren't ready to go on a trip that we had planned with Nikki. Well, to our surprise, everyone dressed in pink in honor of Nikki.
On May 2, 2026, we all got together and held a 5k run/walk in memory of Nikki. We raised $3,800 for TWLOHA, which provides therapy sessions for people in need. Our team came in third place in country for the amount of money raised. It was a day of celebrating Nikki's life and legacy.
Nikki's reminder to us all
TikTok
Sisterly love
Photo montage
Riding Segway on vacation
Nikki's 10th birthday
