James Kent "Jimmy" Nichols

James Kent Nichols, Jimmy to all that knew him, passed away November 5, 2024, 11 days after being diagnosed with glioblastoma. He never did like to waste time. Jimmy was born on July 10, 1959 in Clifton, TX and graduated from Crockett High School in Austin in 1977. Jimmy got his start in the grocery industry while still in school, working nights in a Safeway grocery store while attending Southwest Texas State University during the day. He graduated with a Bachelors in Business Administration in 1981 and continued with what would become a long and incredibly successful career in both the retail and the wholesale grocery industry. His commitment to always playing by the rules and hard, honest work led him to 12 different cities, holding multiple positions in 7 highly respected companies in the industry, and appointment to the board of directors for AWG, Houchens, and ACE Hardware over the next 43 years. He spent the last 14 years of his professional life as the President and COO of Houchens Food Group, doing a job he loved with people he admired, while leaving a permanent mark on the Houchens legacy and everyone that had the privilege of working with him. While he never failed to succeed in his professional life, Jimmy's greatest achievement was his family. He met the love of his life, Linda, at church in 1975. They were married in 1980 and went on to have 3 daughters - Amanda (Mandy), Megan (Meggie) and Katie (Kater). He was a doting husband, always ready to travel the world, watch HGTV, share an order of fajitas, and never said no to a new purse. Linda was his world. He was THE girl dad before it was cool to be a girl dad, and prided himself on teaching his girls to never give up on what they wanted while supporting them in every way along the way. He was the best dad. In his tenure as a father and grandfather, he proudly held the titles of genius class project crafter, math homework helper, expert lizard and frog catcher, President of the Ice Cream Club, legendary play-dough animal maker, impressive sudoku player, dog whisperer, JFK enthusiast and Master steak griller among countless others. He answered to Dad, Daddy, Pops, Faj, James, and for the last 16 years, Poppa. He loved watching golf with his eyes closed, secret trips to get ice cream, ice-ees, and lottery tickets, re-runs of "The Big Bang Theory", his dogs, eating handfuls of nuts and seeds (which we lovingly referred to as his squirrel food), documentaries, teaching his grandsons to throw the perfect spiral and passing on his love for both basketball and football all while never skipping a beat when his granddaughters wanted him to play Disney princesses with them. He was known for his hilariously dry sense of humor, quick wit, impeccable sarcasm, and memorable nicknames for the bad drivers and careless humans of the world. He was a lifelong Aggie fan, but learned to embrace the Vols when 2 of his 3 girls went to school at UT. He was good at everything he did, but he was most proud of the family that he and Linda created. We were the luckiest girls in the world, and we knew it. He will be missed every day by his wife of 44 years, Linda, his 3 daughters, sons-in -law Chip Hood, Michael Shope, and Scott Kuznicki and 10 grandchildren - Hayden, Landon, Easton, Avalyn, Zeb, Cooper, Eden, Georgia, Jackson, and Owen. Additionally, he is survived by his mother, Barbara Dealy, sisters Elaine Welch and Shelagh Herzog, and many nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts, and uncles. Jimmy was preceded in death by his brother, Steven, beloved stepfather Howard McCann, and his father, Jim. A memorial will be held on Friday, November 22 at 12:00 pm at JC Kirby and Sons Funeral Home in Bowling Green, KY. Visitation will begin at 10:00 am. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in his name to the Palliative Care Unit at Vanderbilt Hospital, where both Jimmy and his family received amazing care and were shown such a genuine outpouring of love in his final days. Services have been entrusted to J.C. Kirby & Son Lovers Lane Chapel.