Casey Nichols

1954 - 2022

Casey Nichols
July 3, 1954 - February 2, 2022
Roseville, California - Casey Eugene Nichols, beloved husband, father, brother, teacher and exemplary human being, died Tuesday, February 2, 2022, at Kaiser Permanente Roseville Medical Center. He was born to Genelle and Earl "Bud" Nichols in Rosemead, California on July 3, 1954. His parents were legendary for their dedication to the Roseville community, and Casey, also deeply vested in the community, became known fondly as "Bud's boy." He is mourned by wife Sarah, daughters Kinzie and Carson, siblings Colleen, Cindy and Cory and grandchildren Alyssa, Adam and Marcus, who knew him as "Bumpa." Casey was 67 years old.
Casey dedicated his life to teaching scholastic journalism, and the Journalism Education Association named him National Yearbook Adviser of the Year in 2004. Casey met his wife Sarah at a journalism workshop in 2000 when close friend John Cutsinger paired them as teaching partners. In 2005, Casey and Sarah married at an oceanside ceremony in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, creating what they called their World of Two. He was devoted to his daughters, volunteering as art docent for Carson's class all through elementary school and as scorekeeper for her softball games. Casey was especially proud of being godfather to his nephew Jude.
Casey graduated with a degree in Liberal Arts from California State University, Sacramento in 1981, earned an MA in journalism from Ball State in 1987 and went into the world with a passion to impact lives. After 36 years in the classroom, his students will tell you he did just that. Casey was fond of saying to his colleagues "It's not about us; it's about them." He was widely decorated as an educator. In addition to Adviser of the Year, the JEA awarded him a Lifetime Achievement Award; the National Scholastic Press Association recognized him with the Pioneer Award; the Columbia Scholastic Press Association conferred on him a Gold Key; Ball State inducted him into the Ball State Journalism Hall of Fame and perhaps most importantly, Rocklin Unified honored him multiple times with teaching accolades, including Rocklin High Teacher of the Year. Casey worked as sports editor for the Roseville Press Tribune from 1972 to 1979, at the time the youngest sports editor in the country. He also taught college classes at Sierra College and Kent State University. Rocklin Principal Davis Stewart said he was a compassionate service educator who made a huge difference in the lives of so many. Nichols' students at Rocklin High established the Casey Nichols Memorial Journalism Scholarship that can be found at: https://gofund.me/0901f91a
Çasey displayed an uncommon courage to believe the universe conspires for our good, and nurtured a love for baseball, golf, music and books. He challenged friends to yearly reading contests, but few could match his voracity; he read 61 books in 2021. An excellent athlete in his youth, Casey focused his talents on golf in later years, both as coach and player. He coached the Rocklin High boys golf team to a section championship in 2000, and though health challenges eventually diminished his skills, he never surrendered his pursuit of scoring in the 70s, something he once did regularly while competing in junior golf tournaments. It's likely impossible to catalogue the number of music concerts Casey attended. He saw Springsteen at least 20 times, and it wasn't uncommon for Sarah and him to travel from one destination to another to see the same artist several days in a row. But baseball was Casey's first love, especially the San Francisco Giants. He attended games in every major league park except for Milwaukee and Miami. Sarah and Carson have vowed to finish the tour for him. Fortunately, he witnessed his beloved Giants win 107 games in 2021, and he traveled to Oracle Park three times to watch them challenge the Dodgers in the National League Division Series.
A Celebration of Life for Casey is planned for Thursday, February 17 at the Rocklin High amphitheater. Instead of flowers, his family encourages contributions to the ACLU, Alzheimer's Association, Mazeppa Area Historical Society, the Student Press Law Center or any local public library.