Michael Thomas Nichols

1949 - 2023

Michael Thomas Nichols
March 2, 1949 - March 5, 2023
Ft Worth, Texas - Hometown journalist, copy editor, columnist, local historian, and author, Michael Thomas "Mike" Nichols, 74, passed away March 5, 2023, at home in Fort Worth, Texas, of complications from cancer.
A Memorial of Life will be held on Saturday, May 6, 2023, from 10 a.m. - 12 noon, at the library of his beloved Polytechnic High School at 1300 Conner Ave. Following the service, friends may continue to visit at the Mexican Inn Cafe at 2700 E. Lancaster Ave.
A fifth-generation Texan, Nichols was born near the Stockyards in Fort Worth on March 2, 1949, to Samuel D. and Margaret O. Nichols, but they raised their children in Poly.
Nichols attended D. McRae Elementary School, William James Middle School, and was a 1967 graduate of Polytechnic High School, where he was co-editor of The Parakeet newsletter. He attended Tarrant County (Junior) College, then received a BA in journalism at the University of North Texas (UNT) in 1971. The family is planning to donate his written and photographic work to the UNT Special Collections Library.
Nichols worked at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for 23 years as a copy editor, humor columnist, and travel writer, traveling to 40 countries.
He wrote six books, including Balaam Gimble's Gumption, which won the Texas Institute of Letters Humor Award for the Funniest Texas Book published in 2004.
At age 62 Nichols began an adventure to chronicle the history of Fort Worth from the seat of his bicycle while wearing a camera around his neck. Nichols wrote, "I went to work for the Star-Telegram, traveled all seven continents, and I came back home thinking that Fort Worth is a really interesting place."
He published his work in hundreds of blogs under the title, "Hometown by Handlebar"and in the Star-Telegram. In October 2022 the Tarrant County Historical Commission honored him with The Quentin McGown Media Award for this work.
Nichols wrote articles on Poly history for the Poly Alumni Association newsletter, The Parakeet. He served as co-contact of his Class of 1967, and maintained a website for them. When his journalism mentor, Dorothy Estes, died in 2018, he wrote that all of her former students, her spiritual children,"feel a bit orphaned by her passing."
For donations, the following organizations are suggested: The Humane Society of North Texas, 1840 E. Lancaster Ave., Fort Worth TX 76102; or UNT Libraries, Attention Morgan Gieringer, 1155 Union Circle #305190, Denton, TX 76203-5017, check payable to UNT Libraries, memo line: In memory of Mike Nichols.
Nichols is survived by a sister, Kathleen "Kathy" Wagoner Sims of Denton.
His cremated remains will be spread at his requested Texas locations.