Richard Everard Meade "Dick" Nichol Sr.

Richard Everard Meade Nichol, Sr. (Dick), beloved husband, father, and grandfather, passed away peacefully on September 28, 2024 in Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of 84. Dick was surrounded by loving family, as he had been his entire life.

Dick was born in Memphis on October 28, 1939, as the second child of the late Mary Meade Swayze and William Lytle Nichol III. Dick attended Snowden School in Memphis through the eighth grade, and went on to graduate from Sewanee Military Academy, in 1957. After SMA, Dick went to college at the University of Mississippi. He took some time off to care for his ill father and graduated in 1962.

At Ole Miss, Dick had met and befriended a beautiful young woman, Gerry Tarver, from Mississippi. A couple of years after he graduated, Dick was beginning his long and successful real estate career with a job at Metropolitan Life Insurance Company as a mortgage banker. Work often took him to New York City. Gerry had moved there after college and, before one trip, Dick wrote her a letter asking for a date. The letter was dated April 1, and Gerry always said she thought it might be a joke, because Dick was the funniest fellow she'd ever known. Luckily, he wasn't joking, and they ended up enjoying several dates that year at the 1964 World's Fair in New York City before marrying on May 1, 1965. Dick was absolutely devoted to Gerry for the rest of his life. He loved making her laugh more than anything; he was more likely to burst with pride over her accomplishments than his own; he cared for her faithfully in her illness; and he has missed her every minute since her death in July of 2019.

After Met Life, Dick worked at E.H. Crump & Co., and later at Boyle Investment Company, where he spent the rest of his career. During these years of working and raising his family, Dick most enjoyed weekends hunting and fishing, especially with his sons Richard and John. Dick loved being outside and took great pleasure in regular outings close to home as well as travels around the globe.

Upon his and Gerry's early retirement in 1995, Dick was able to act on his dream of moving west -- starting out at a beach house on the Oregon coast until he found just the perfect fishing spot on the Umpqua River near Elkton, Oregon. He designed and built a beautiful home there and spent countless hours riding his tractor, admiring his fields and trees, looking out for elk and owls, and, of course, fishing. Dick and Gerry used the Elkton home as their base of operations for two decades spent traveling and adventuring throughout the world. They returned home to Memphis in 2016, where they were able to spend time with family and many old and dear friends in their final years.

One of Dick's most telling childhood memories was of going off to summer camp for several weeks as a very little boy who did not yet know how to tie his shoes. Of course, Dick was so charming and clever, he did just fine. Everyone wanted to help him. Dick's middle-child resourcefulness served him well his entire life, and there was no one in his orbit who wasn't drawn in by his perfectly timed and often mischievous sense of humor.

In addition to being a happy-go-lucky funny man, Dick was a constantly curious person with an incredibly sharp mind. His integrity was legendary. He was a deeply loyal friend and fierce supporter of his family. He could find his wife's lost keys in the most unlikely places, and he had a knack for fixing things. He also delighted in recognizing and providing what other people might need -- whether that meant anticipating the hottest Christmas season toy well before it sold out, or stocking up on favorite items to surprise the people he loved at just the right moment. He was really the most competent person in the world, and no one was more wildly frustrated than he was by the limitations he faced at the very end of his life. In his final weeks, Dick was able to appreciate his enormously fortunate life, yet express his readiness to move on and join Gerry.

Dick was preceded in death by his wife of 54 years, Gerry, and his beloved older brother, Lytle Nichol. Dick is survived by his younger sister Esther Nichol, as well as his children and their families: Richard and Caren Nichol, and their sons Ev and Benjamin; Anne Nichol and Aaron Courtney, and their children Josephine, Harriet, Cash, and Samson; and John Nichol.

Dick will be put to rest, beside Gerry, at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, October 2, in a graveside service at St. John's Episcopal Church Cemetery.

Memorial Park Funeral Home & Cemetery is handling arrangements. Donations in Dick's honor may be made to St. John's Episcopal Church in Memphis.