Penny
Nichols Freshwater, Lionel Nichols’ daughter who lives in Ocala, Florida,
straightens me out of all the Nichols running around in my brain:
Bob Nichols, Dad's older brother, only had one child, Jeannie, who was
married to Dinkle Martin. There are two
younger Bobs....one was Fritz's son and the other was Si Nichols’ oldest
son. I think he might be the one who you
are coming to the Villages with.
Dad's store closed in 76 or 77 and he opened the game room shortly
thereafter. Someone asked on Facebook if he had worked in
Worthington. He did work at the A
& P there then moved to the one in East
Fairmont before buying Salvati's in 1960.
Aunt Eileen and Uncle Jim did pass through Texas but their children were
all raised in Oakland, CA.
Clay and Mary Fullen both lived upstairs until her death in 1974.
The part about the St. Bernard should have gone with Ellen Shaw's obit.
Dad's parents were Troy and Davina Nichols --they had the restaurant
across the
street for many years, having bought it from Clay and Mary Fullen. I am sure a
lot of folks who read your blog will remember Grandma's pies.
Thanks for getting this together so fast. Since I am only a few miles
from The
Villages I will see you next winter.
Penny
Thanks, Penny. Even with
43 years of newspaper experience sometimes I connect dots that aren’t there.
And I look forward to meeting you when Paula and I are in The Villages. Call me
on my cellphone at (330) 388-4466 in January 2015 through March and we’ll have
a good old-fashioned Monongah High Alumni reunion.
Now, read the original article with Penny's clarifications in mind.
= = = = = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = =
Lionel Nichols, Class of 1942, has passed away. He will be cremated. That are no funeral services at Lionel's request.
He was the widower of Thelma Fullen
Nichols, who left Monongah High to work at the newly opened Westinghouse. His
parents were Troy and Devina Nichols.
Lionel has one daughter, Penny
Nichols Freshwater, Class of 1969, who lives in Ocala, Florida.
Goldie Basagic Huffman, Class of 1974, remembers when she
bought her first bike from Penny, for $12. Goldie worked to pay it off.
Chris Shamrock Hennig, who lives in Abilene, Texas, remembers
her brother delivering papers as the Saint Bernard dog barked away.
Chris’ siblings, all deceased, were Celia Shamrock Eller and John and Joe
Shamrock. The Shamrocks used to come to the Olesky house on Church Street to
pay their PNA insurance dues, which my father, John W. Olesky, Sr., handled in
the 1940s and 1950s.
Lionel served in the Army as a
Medic during World War II. He saw action during the
London Blitz and in France.
Lionel owned and operated
Nichols Grocery in Monongah for many years and also the Nichols Game Room before moving to Ocala, where he lived for 30 years. He moved to
Fairmont and was still driving at the age of 90.
Clay Fullen lived with Lionel and Thelma above the grocery store in Monongah.
Lionel was the oldest graduate at the 2012 Monongah High
Alumni Reunion. He also attended in 2013. So did Everett Jones, another Class of 1942 graduate.
Gary Nichols, Class of 1967, and
Bob Nichols, Class of 1964, attended the MHS Reunion in 2014.
Lionel's sister, Maxine Nichols Morrison, Class of 1939, attended Lionel’s 90th birthday party in 2012 and was still driving.
Lionel's siblings, Bob
Nichols, the barber and former Monongah mayor; Fritz Nichols; and Eileen Nichols Wood Stansberry are deceased.
Ellen passed in Woodland,
California in 2002 after she and her husband, Jim Stansberry, raised five
children in Texas. She was survived by children Diane Edwards of
Woodland, Scott Stansberry and wife Linda of Prunedale, California, Steve
Stansberry and wife JoAnn of Fremont, California, Melanie McReynolds and husband
Pat of Woodland and Mary Ann Lott and husband Michael of Woodland.
Adam Michna said he believes the grocery
store closed in 1974.
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Lionel is Ramona Fullen Michalski’s
uncle. Ramona’s grandfather was the half-brother of the father of Shirley
Fullen, Class of 1954.
Bob Nichols, son of the former
Monongah barber and mayor, and his wife have wintered in Florida for nearly a
decade – in Lakeland, in Weston (Fort Lauderdale suburb) and this coming winter
in Clearwater. Since Bob and his wife and Paula and I – renting in The
Villages, Florida – both will be there January through March 2015, maybe we’ll
arrange a Monongah High reunion.
If you have memories of the Nichols
or Fullen families, email John Olesky at jo4wvu@neo.rr.com
and I’ll add them to this Monongah High Alumni blog article.
PENNY WE ARE SO SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS OF YOUR DAD.. HE WAS A
WONDERFUL MAN, MY HUSBAND PAUL LAMBERT IS SO HURT. LIONEL WAS LIKE A DAD TO
HIM. LIONEL PUSHED HIM TO GO TO COLLEGE.. YOUR DAD ALWAYS STOP TO SEE US WHEN
HE CAME IN. LOVE + PRAYERS PAUL + VIVIAN LAMBERT. WHEN THEY FORCED THE
NICHOLS GROCERY STORE OUT BECAUSE THE TOWN STOPPED THE PARKING THIS TOWN WENT
DOWN HILL..
Paul Lambert is Class of 1973.
= = = = = = = =
Mike Loss, son of
Suzanne Barr Loss and the late Arnold “J.B.” Loss, comments on the passing of
Lionel Nichols:
Hi John,
Was saddened to learn of Lionel Nichol's
passing. He was my former father-in-law. Always liked him and had a
lot of respect for the man. As Tom Brokaw pointed out, he was a part of
"The Greatest Generation."
Raised during the "Great Depression," served his
Country in WWII, returned home and led a productive life.
Guitar player, wonderful sense of humor and all around good guy.
Rest in peace, Lionel.
Mike
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