Richard C. Nickols Jr.

Richard C. Nickols, Jr., 79, passed away peacefully at home on Saturday, February 24, 2018. Born and raised in Pulaski, Virginia, he was the only child of Ruby Hale Nickols and Richard C. Nickols. He graduated from Pulaski High School at sixteen and attended Fork Union Military Academy for a year before enrolling at Virginia Tech on a football scholarship, graduating in 1959 with a Bachelor of Science in Metallurgical Engineering. Upon graduation, he worked at Armco Steel in Ashland, Kentucky before joining the U.S. Air Force. He was stationed at Edwards Air Force Base in California where he worked at the Air Force Test Center developing rocket fuel for the U.S. space program. In 1964, he joined the UTC Power fuel cell division of Pratt & Whitney in South Windsor, Connecticut. During his tenure, UTC Power supplied fuel cells to NASA for both the Apollo project and Space Shuttle missions, which provided electric power and drinking water to the astronauts on board. He was granted fourteen patents during his thirty-four year career. Throughout his life, he loved to play any sport, as well as work in his woodshop and yard. He could fix anything. After retiring to Virginia in 1998, he enjoyed sailing on Smith Mountain Lake, attending Virginia Tech football games, and traveling with his wife and friends. He is survived by his wife, Sanda Marie Nickols, his daughters Katherine Thompson (Bradley) and Elizabeth Nickols, and grandchildren Adeline and John. A funeral service will be held Monday, March 5, 2018. Arrangements by Portland Memorial Funeral Home in Portland, Connecticut.