Howard F. Nichols

Howard Foster Nichols, 84, of Boston and Barnstead Parade, NH, died on Thursday, February 21st, 2013 at home after a long and full life. He was born May 21, 1928 in Amesbury, Mass., the son of Harold Everett and Gladys Foster Nichols. Fizz or Foster, as he was known to his friends, grew up in Needham, Mass. and graduated from Needham High School in 1946. He graduated from Dartmouth College, class of 1950, and was commissioned that year as an ensign in the U.S. Navy. He served mainly in the South China Sea throughout the Korean Conflict. Howard began his professional career in 1954 at the Old Colony Trust Company, the trust affiliate of the First National Bank of Boston. He earned his Masters of Business Administration at Boston University and qualified later as a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). He worked for the Bank of Boston for 35 years, chiefly as vice president with responsibility for managing closely-held companies for which the bank had a fiduciary responsibility. He built long-lasting business relationships with a network of New England firms, many family-owned. On retiring in 1989, Howard continued to serve as a director on the boards of Bemis and Doble Engineering, among others. Nick, as he was also known, especially enjoyed gardening, skiing, photography, refurb- ishing old homes and furn- iture, and socializing within an extensive community of Dartmouth alumni and friends. He is survived by his wife, Margery Pyne Nichols, of Barnstead Parade, New Hampshire and his three daughters and their families: Lucy Prentiss Nichols, James Farquhar, and Benjamin Foster Nichols-Farquhar of Greenfield, New Hampshire; Nancy Jean Nichols, James McKim, and Andrew Nichols McKim and Katherine Gibson McKim of Goffstown, New Hampshire; and Sally Foster Nichols and Gerald Lemoine of Swans Island, Maine. He is also survived by his first wife, Jean Edmands of Amherst, New Hampshire. A Funeral Service will be held in the Eaton Funeral Home, 1351 Highland Ave., Needham on Friday, March 1st at 7 PM. Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend. Visiting hours will be held Friday evening from 5- 7 PM prior to the service. Interment will be private. Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to Dartmouth College c/o Dartmouth College Development, 6066 Development Office, Hanover, NH 03755 or to Dana Faber Cancer Institute, Head and Neck Oncology Department P.O. Box 849168, Boston, MA 02284-9168.