Up Close and Purr-sonal: Vicki Nye

Susan Cook Henry

One of the more familiar faces in CFA show halls is Allbreed Judge Vicki Nye. Her personal history and that with our organization would make a great nonfiction book—full of amazing travel, adventure, hard work, joy, and love … loss, and heartache. She caught the “cat show bug” early on. But fewer and fewer of us now remember the Vicki (Dickerson) in front of the judging table as we do the Vicki behind it!

Her interest in Persian cats began as a child, and she was gifted a white Persian kitten in 1973. “Dandy” came with registration papers, but when Vicki began attending cat shows, it was apparent he was not of competitive quality. Nevertheless, he lived a happy life of 16 years as a beloved pet. In 1975, while living in Cambridge, MA, she attended a show in Boston where she met a well-known breeder of Calico/Bi-Color Persians, Bobara Pendergrast (Olde Calico). Bobara had been the driving force behind this popular division of Persians, which was accepted to championship status by CFA in 1970. Vicki was very happy to have made this connection with Bobara, and remembers Richard Gebhardt, Adam Frecowski, and Ben Erhardt as judges at that show. Vicki kept in constant touch with Bobara, and in February of 1976, she took ownership of a calico kitten.

Vicki later returned to her hometown of Phoenix, AZ, where she and her parents, Barbara and Cliff Farrell, began a breeding program in earnest. At the home of John and Anita Knowlton, she saw a magnificent copper-eyed white Persian, GC Phoenician Damascus, a boy who “took my breath away with his eyes the size of quarters,” as Vicki remembers. He was indeed ahead of his time, and it was Vicki’s good fortune to get a daughter of Damascus that year. In 1978, Kim Wheelwright offered Vicki a female kitten from a girl she had bred to Damascus. This kitten, GC, RW Sun-Thunder Wind Star of Windborne, DM, proved to be the start of Vicki’s addiction to showing and breeding. The calendar rolled by quickly; “Windy” was bred to her half-brother (also by Damascus), and three white kittens were produced. Vicki is an “all-in” kind of gal, and her MO through the years has been “Headfirst with MAXIMUM intensity!” She took the pick kitten from the litter and hit the ground running (and flying) to 47 shows with GC, NW Can-Do Wind Chime of Windborne. Wind Chime earned a NW title in the ’79–80 season—Vicki’s first. It was the start of a parade of “Windborne” NWs every year from 1979 until through 1988, with a one-year break for two RWs in 1989 before adding three more NWs in 1990 and 1993. That parade includes FOUR CFA Kittens of the Year, beginning with GC, NW Ann-Ge’s Cool Million of Windborne, DM (1981), who sired each of the following KOTYs: GC, NW Windborne Guardian Angel (1986), GC, NW Windborne Angel’s Got Blue Eyes (1987), and GC, NW Windborne California Dreamin’ (1988). “Cool Million” was definitely a one-in-a-million boy, sire of 21 grands/grand premiers. In all, Windborne laid claim to a total of 14 NWs and 14 RWs over 14 seasons. Quite the accomplishment! During all of this campaign activity, Vicki was juggling a successful full-time job in the banking industry, which had started upon her graduation from Arizona State University in 1977.

With all that show hall success settled, Vicki turned her attention to the goal she had set from her very first season of campaigning in 1978: becoming a CFA judge. At that time, an applicant needed to have had a CFA-registered cattery for seven years. Vicki had waited until 1980 to register her “Windborne” cattery name, and therefore was not eligible to apply until 1987. In addition, her first queens (and RW/NWs) did not carry her cattery prefix and did not count towards the requirements to apply. Ten home- or co-bred GC/GP-titled cats were needed for application then; it remains ten GC/GPs today, but four of those may now carry a different cattery prefix. Vicki met all the requirements in June 1987, and the CFA Board accepted her as a longhair trainee in October of that year, then on to Longhair Apprentice judge in February of 1988. With eyes ever on the prize of being a CFA Allbreed judge, Vicki began preparing early on for the Shorthair specialty and showed a “Perfection” Abyssinian kitten from Dick and Dottie Olsen to a RW title in the ’82–83 season. That female produced a litter of non-showable Aby kittens, and no more litters came from that girl, who, sadly, passed at the age of six. Vicki also added an “Arrow’s” Manx from Linda Osborne to her home. This queen granded and later produced two litters. Vicki had also pestered Wain Harding for many months, and he finally came through with her wish by gifting her a red Aby girl with a meaningful name: Bastis Victoria’s Secret of Windborne.

This early success had Vicki on a trajectory to fast-track through the judging program. But tragedy intervened in the late summer of 1990, when she lost her two beautiful white Persian boys—“Cool Million” to a stroke at the age of 10, and “Guardian Angel” just two months later to an invasive intrasinus cancer … loss and heartache. These two occurrences nearly derailed Vicki’s career in CFA; she had lost her will to continue her Persian program due to such emotional devastation. She decided to tender her resignation from the judging program and gave the letter to her mother to take to the post office. But Barbara did not post that letter, knowing her daughter needed more time to grieve. When no acknowledgement came from the judging program chair, Kim Everett, Vicki began to wonder if it had ever been received. She had also had time to think over her decision to step away from CFA, and her mother then admitted to never sending the letter. When your mother really KNOWS you and what will be best for your future, she acts accordingly.

Vicki was accepted as a shorthair trainee in October of 1990. Three years later, she advanced to approval pending allbreed, and in June of 1994 became an approved CFA allbreed judge. Since that time (in addition to club and show involvement), she has been a training instructor for 28 CFA judge trainees, many of whom have gone on to be popular allbreed judges, while some are just beginning their journey through the CFA judging program. She has been on the faculty of nearly every Breed Awareness & Orientation School for the past five years, and managed Judges’ Workshops at the past three CFA Annual meetings. She was the chair of the approved and guest judges program from 2020–22, vice-chair from 2022–23, and currently co-chair of the CFA judging program. And at the June 2024 CFA Annual in Coralville, Iowa, Vicki was awarded the CFA Judges’ Spotlight Award, recognizing her efforts for the program by a vote of her peers … a career highlight!

Aside from her immeasurable commitment to CFA, Vicki has had a very full professional and personal life. Bank mergers had brought her to settle in Salinas, CA, as a commercial credit officer for Bank of America. Vicki relates, “I had a great job that I really enjoyed, and finally decided I truly wanted a partner to share my life with, which would include my involvement in breeding Persians and judging for CFA. I was 42, and on a plane every weekend, so it’s not surprising that I met Thomas Nye on an airplane. Our first date entailed him taking two flights to get to Monterey, having dinner, and then going to a cat show in Reno, NV.” Tom was a flight attendant for SkyWest Airlines, so air travel was the common denominator for both—along with having had previous marriages. The serendipity of their meeting on a flight was a meant-to-be situation, and Tom proposed to Vicki at the end of their extended first date in May of 1996. They were married in front of the Lone Cypress tree in Pebble Beach, CA, appropriately on Valentine’s Day, 1997. Tom was no stranger to Persian cats, having had one as a roommate during eight years he had spent in Alaska. Vicki had reignited her breeding program (this time with bi-color Persians), so Tom was right at home with a Persian in his lap once again. Vicki’s parents had moved to Salinas to be with her not long after she’d purchased her home there. Sadly, Vicki’s father had a fatal stroke in April 1998. Her mother suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and Tom dutifully looked after her while Vicki traveled the USA and the world to shows and judging assignments. “Our schedules were hectic with me flying home from a show, and him leaving to drive back to San Francisco to fly his schedule for the airline. Our life together was a great example of not putting off things you want to do today because tomorrows are never guaranteed,” adds Vicki. It was truly amazing how they were able to mesh their work and travel schedules so that one of them was always home to care for Barbara, until she passed in 2004 … loss, and heartache.

Vicki and Tom had their ideal life with their cats and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels; she with her successful career and with CFA, and he with airline duties and his beloved Harley Davidson Heritage Classic motorcycle (especially on those empty roads in Monterey during COVID). Vicki admits, “We both worked so hard so we could have an enjoyable retirement, which was to include some travel and a more peaceful life.” In fact, Vicki’s retirement came earlier than expected, when her bank announced that its commercial credit officers would have to relocate either to Phoenix or to Charlotte, NC. She had 41 years with Bank of America, and opted for a retirement package which began in January 2019. Tom retired from SkyWest in August 2019, and they were able to enjoy gardening and complete a number of house projects. In March 2020, the pandemic hit and Vicki’s involvement in CFA judging program grew, when in June she was asked to chair the approved judges and guest judging program. Vicki was a quick study, something her retirement gave her the time to do when addressing a steep learning curve.

Then, seven months later in January 2021, their world changed: One day, there was a peaceful, quiet motorcycle ride to the beach together; the next day, Tom reached to the floor to pick up a small part of a project he’d been working on when he crashed to the floor. It was difficult for Vicki to help him back up to his chair, and his left arm and leg were not fully functional. A stroke was suspected, although Tom was speaking clearly. His doctor advised and arranged for an MRI immediately. That afternoon, they received the devastating news that he had brain cancer which had metastasized from an undiagnosed lung tumor. “That was the tip of the iceberg,” said Vicki, who continued, “Through the miracle of modern medicine, a targeted chemo pill was available, and with the combination of radiation to his brain, the cancer was undetectable within six months. We were of course hoping for a full recovery, but doctors were cautious and would never tell us that he was in remission.” Almost two years later, a small breakthrough tumor was found on his lung which entailed more radiation, and then he fell and broke his hip. Tom never complained about the doctors’ appointments, the treatment, the pills, blood tests, and physical therapy, and fought with courage and strength. On July 31, 2024, Tom took another fall, which was the first indication that the brain cancer was back—this time with a vengeance. Three days later, he could not walk when his brain was no longer capable of telling his feet what to do. He was back in the hospital again, where they determined there were a dozen new brain tumors. There was no treatment left that wouldn’t be even more devastating to his brain. “They thought he had six or seven weeks left, but in fact it was only 18 days until he passed,” adds Vicki. “As he wished, he came home under hospice care for his last ten days with me, his two dogs and kitty by his side” … loss, and unbearable heartache.

However, just like illness and grief, hope and kindness also come ‘round again, and life ever regains its balance. The support, the joy, and the love Vicki has received from her fellow judges, the breeders, and the exhibitors of CFA and the beautiful cats they have shown has been invaluable. They ARE her family now, and they will continue to be well into the future.