Rev. John H. Nicolai

Bismarck, N.D. - Rev. John H. Nicolai, 84, Bismarck, died Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008, in a car accident, as did his wife, Lorraine.

Funeral services will be held on Sunday, Oct. 12, at 2 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bismarck.

Visitation will be held on Saturday from 1-9 p.m. at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck, where a prayer service will be held at 7 p.m. Visitation will continue on Sunday one hour prior to the service at the church.

John Henry Nicolai was born on July 30, 1924, in Orland, Calif., the son of Henry and Bertha Louise (Koch) Nicolai, the son of German immigrants. His father died when John was 10 years of age. He graduated from Orland High School in 1942. John played sousaphone from grade school through high school and in college. In high school, he competed in football, basketball, and track. In 1942, he entered San Francisco State College to pursue a career in music, but as World War II was underway on April 16, 1943, he joined the United States Air Force, serving as a radio operator on a B-24 bomber. On one of the bombing runs, the plane was shot down over Hungary, and the crew made their way back to friendly territory.

Upon discharge from the military, John enrolled at Pacific Lutheran College in Parkland, Wash., graduating with a degree in Sociology, with minors in Psychology and Speech. He enrolled in graduate school at the University of California in Berkeley in 1948. He did not finish, but entered Lutheran Theological Seminary in St. Paul, Minn., graduating in 1952. He was ordained on May 26, 1952, at his boyhood church, the First Lutheran Church of Orland, Calif.

It was during his seminary years that John met Lorraine Jeannette Solberg, a South Dakota farm girl who had graduated from Minnesota School of Business in Minneapolis, Minn. John and Lorraine were married on Aug. 25, 1951, at Bethesda Lutheran Church in Bristol, S.D.

John's first call to serve was a four-congregation parish in western North Dakota, where he served from 1952-1955. John accepted a call to serve Trinity Lutheran Church in Bismarck, N.D., and was installed as their second pastor on July 10, 1955, where he would serve for more than 34 years.

During his years at Trinity Lutheran Church, Pastor “Nick” was involved on a regular basis in nearly every aspect of church life, serving 22 years as director of the Trinity High School Youth Choir. Holding the scriptures in one hand and the daily newspaper in the other, he was equally involved through both church and civic affairs, serving on numerous boards, organizations, and associations, particularly those involving service to people, youth, education, and history, such as Governors Committee on Children and Youth, N.D. Representative to the White House Conference on Children and Youth, Governor's Committee on Human Resources, Mayor's Youth Committee, Bismarck Safety Council, Bismarck United Way, Bismarck Committee for Better Education, Bismarck Parent-Teachers Association, Lion's Club, Bismarck Ministerial Association, Tumbleweed Chapter of Parents Without Partners, Bismarck Rape Advisory Council, Juvenile Court Advisory Committee, Committee for Cooperative Planning BSC/U of Mary, N.D. Prison Chaplaincy Board, Ruth Meier's Hospitality House, N.D. Centennial Committee, Badlands Bible Camp of the Cross Lutheran Bible Camp, and Missouri Valley Historical Society “Buckstop Junction.”

John loved and valued time with family. Friday became family day (partly because the Nicolai children could stay up late), family vacations were loading up the station wagon, going tenting and camping. Two of his passions were sports and music, and later, travel. Pastor Nick and Lorraine traveled all over the United States as well as foreign travel, both on their own and in leading tour groups. He had a quick, dry wit, enjoyed telling jokes and stories, often injecting puns into the conversation. He was a public servant leader.

He is survived by his sons, Randall of Pullman, Wash., Steve (Gisele) of Misawa, Japan, and David (Teri) of Waterford, Wis.; his daughters, Renee Cleary of Bismarck, and Susan (John) Weiss of Hartland, Wis.; 16 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; one sister, Lena (Bill) Woodmansee of Chico, Calif.; three nephews; and two nieces.

He was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers-in-law.

Go online to www.parkwayfuneral.com to share memories of John and to sign the guestbook.

The family prefers memorials to Trinity Lutheran Church in Bismarck, N.D.