Robert Leighton "Bob" Nichols

1926 - 2015

Robert "Bob" Leighton Nichols, 88, died Friday, May 8, 2015. Service: A private burial will be held in Greenwood Memorial Park, Fort Worth. A reception will follow 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, May 21, at Arborlawn United Methodist Church. Memorials: In lieu of flowers, Bob requested that donations be sent to the Bobby Nichols Jr. Scholarship Fund, Box 1, Webb City, Mo. 64870. Bob was born June 24, 1926, in Amarillo to Marvin C. and Ethel N. Nichols. He grew up in Fort Worth and loved to visit his grandmother, Cora Curtis Nichols, in Denton with his older brother, Jim. When he was 16, Bob enrolled at Texas A&M University, where he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in civil engineering. He met the kind, beautiful and smart Frances Hardison in Amarillo, and they courted for several years while she pursued her degree in music at Texas Wesleyan University. They married June 8, 1948, at her parents' home in Eunice, N.M., embarking on a lifelong partnership filled with love. Over the next seven years, Bob and Frances had four children, Bobby Jr., Eileen, Bill and Mike, raising them first in Fort Worth and then on a farm near Chisholm. Losing Bobby in a motorcycle accident the week before he was to enter college was the greatest tragedy Bob and Frances were to face together. From this tragedy the Bobby Nichols Scholarship Foundation began. This foundation benefits graduates of Terrell High. He was an active member of Chisholm United Methodist Church. Bob was a successful engineer, working at Freese and Nichols Inc., in various roles, including president, from 1948 until his death. He was born into the profession. "We have pictures of us boys (Bob and his brother, Jim) climbing up on the riprap" at the dams his father engineered, Bob once said. "That was the beginning of my interest in engineering. I grew up in it. I didn't know there was any other way to make a living." At Freese and Nichols, he was responsible for the coordination of many large-scale, multi-discipline and multi-consultant projects, including water and wastewater treatment plants, railroads and master drainage plans. He recognized early in his career the importance of engineering for a healthy environment he was an environmental engineer before that specialty was common. He was active in many professional organizations, including the National Society of Professional Engineers (president, 1978-79, and NSPE Award, 1989) and Texas Society of Professional Engineers (president, 1965-66). Bob served for many years on the Texas A&M Civil Engineering Advisory Board. In recognition of his commitment to professional excellence; Freese and Nichols established the Robert L. Nichols Professional Service Award. This award is given annually to the employee who best exemplifies the dedication to professional service and development Bob demonstrated throughout his career. Bob was an active community member both in Texas and in Webb City, Mo., where he moved in 1991. He was a lifelong supporter of the Boy Scouts of America and served the BSA Longhorn Council of North Texas as president 1989-1993 and chaired its Long Range Planning Committee. In Missouri, he served the BSA Ozark Trails Council as president 1998-2000 and led its Learning for Life Council. In 2011, the Ozark Trails Council awarded Bob the Trail of Honor-Path of Lifetime Service Award for his 30-plus years of dedication to scouting and the community. In Webb City, he helped reinvigorate the Chamber of Commerce as volunteer executive director. Bob served on the Webb City Council and headed fundraising efforts for the Webb City Public Library expansion. Bob helped organize a successful drive to secure adequate funding for public schools in the area. He received the 2004 Friend of Education Award from the Southwest Region of the Missouri State Teachers Association. He was a driving force behind the Tri-State Water Resource Coalition and the Environmental Task Force of Jasper and Newton counties. He was a member of the Fort Worth Rotary Club, Webb City-Carl Junction Rotary Club, Webb City Area Chamber of Commerce, Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce, Central United Methodist Church of Webb City and other local, state and national organizations. He was honored by the Webb City R-7 Foundation as Distinguished Citizen of the Year in 2007. Doing the right thing was the Bob Nichols way. If he saw a problem, he found a solution, if a thing needed doing; he made sure it was done. He was a national leader in ethics in engineering and served as chair of the National Institute for Engineering Ethics and of the NSPE Board of Ethical Review. When the Missouri-American Water Co. released a study showing that Southwest Missouri water resources might be threatened in the future, he led a call for action. When public schools needed support, he helped organize a broad based group to secure that support. Bob was a planner and organizer and anyone who agreed to take on a part of one of his projects could expect follow-up calls and emails until that task was accomplished. He was generous, giving his time and money to many good causes, often over and above that which was requested. Most important in Bob's life was family. For the past five years, he was Frances' devoted caregiver as Alzheimer's robbed her of her memory and her ability to care for herself. He was the proud grandfather to six grandchildren, Alex Nichols (Elizabeth) of Austin, Cora Nichols (Emmanuelle Svartz) of Perth, Australia, Bobby Nichols of Fort Worth, Emily Richardson (Christopher Smith) of Indianapolis, Ind., Matthew Nichols of Webb City, Mo., Erica Wilson (Jeremy) of Arlington; and two great-grandchildren, Madeleine and Josephine Svartz-Nichols. He had countless other kinfolk, including Frances' family, the Hardisons. He often said that marrying into the Hardison family was one of the best things he ever did. Bob was an avid traveler, often visited family and friends or vacationed alongside them. He went to Antarctica with his granddaughter Cora when he was 80 and she was 30. They were both visiting their seventh continent. Scotland was a favorite destination. He went dozens of times, usually timing the visit so he could attend the Tattoo in Edinburgh. He was looking forward to another trip to Scotland this summer, going with his granddaughter Emily and her husband. Always the planner, he often would send emails while waiting for his plane to leave, lining up the next trip. When call forwarding became common, his family and friends never knew where their call might find him -- in New Mexico visiting family, on the East Coast visiting friends, in Springfield on Boy Scout business, in Texas on Freese and Nichols business or in China seeing the Three Gorges Dam. Survivors: Wife, Frances; his brother, Jim Nichols and wife, Billie; children, Eileen and Phil of Webb City, Mo., Bill and T.J. of Arlington and Mike and Ana of Austin; his six grandchildren; his two great-grandchildren; and many other relatives and friends.