Alan Nicol

Alan M Nicol

Alan M Nicol of The Landings, Savannah, Ga, passed away peacefully on Thursday, Dec 26, at his home after a long illness, surrounded by his family Born in Edgbaston, near Birmingham, England, to Douglas and Diana Nicol, he immigrated to the US in 1971, to New Canaan, and then moved to Savannah to retire in 1992 He was 84

Engaging, kind, humble, gracious, very tall and very British, he had many interests and built friendships wherever he went He will be deeply missed by all who knew him Following evacuation from Birmingham during the war, he was educated at Uppingham School in Northern England, then performed his national service with the Royal Engineers in the Royal West African Frontier Force in Ghana He returned to Caius College, Cambridge, where he obtained a BA in civil engineering in 1952 and an MA in 1956

He spent most of his career with John Laing PLC, the British international engineering and construction firm He met his future wife Pamela (Paddy Macfarlane) in London while at a Scottish Country Dancing party at the London Scottish Rugby Club, of which he was a member They married in 1959

He was posted to the US in 1971 for a three-year assignment as president of Laing Construction Services, residing in New Canaan Deciding to stay in the US, he took on various leadership positions with the British American Chamber of Commerce in New York, rising to president, for which he was invested as Commander of the British Empire (CBE) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1989 He retired to The Landings in Savannah Ga, in 1992 and became an American citizen with Paddy

His first love was his family He enjoyed a happy 44-year marriage to Paddy, who passed away in 2003 He is survived by his brother, John (West Lidford, England); sister, Mary Sich (Tauranga, New Zealand); three children: James (Molly) of Albany, NY, Heather (Jim) Rutherford of Saintbury, England, and Jane (Dave) Manuel of Mt Pleasant, SC He was blessed with nine grandchildren of whom he was very proud: David, Sarah, Ben, Emily, Andrew, William, Alex, Sylvia, and Elizabeth

He had a lifelong love of sailing From his early days racing with Sir Francis Chichester in Gypsy Moth, Sir Maurice Laing in Vashti and Clarion, and showing Prime Minister Edward Heath the ropes in Morning Cloud, he was an exceptional ocean racer; he sailed in five Fastnet races, and many others, before starting his family Much later, he was Our Man in Savannah to the 1996 British Olympic Sailing Team, a three year volunteer effort to handle much of the team's Savannah logistics for the Atlanta games More recently, he enjoyed sailing in the West of Scotland and Croatia And in his twilight years as an octogenarian, he was still winning races with his friends at The Landings Sailing Club He was a member of the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) and the New York Yacht Club

He was a member of the Skidaway Island United Methodist Church choir, the Savannah Philharmonic Chorus, and traveled the world singing with the Berkshire Choral Festival He was deeply proud of his British heritage, hosting Boxing Day parties every Christmas, some with Scottish Country dancing, and returning to England often

He leaves a wide group of friends and family who will greatly miss his companionship, graciousness, generosity and zest for life Also Nancy Marsh, who has brought so much love and joy to Alan

There will be a memorial service to celebrate Alan's life at the Skidaway Island United Methodist Church on Friday, Feb 14

In lieu of flowers, his family suggests that remembrances be made in memory of Alan Nicol to Hospice Savannah (HospiceSavannahorg/HelpByDonating) and to the Savannah Philharmonic Orchestra (SavannahPhilharmonicorg)