Gary Owen Nickolaus

1952 - 2024

Gary Owen Nickolaus

October 4, 1952 - December 30, 2024

West Richland, Washington - Gary Owen Nickolaus ("Uncle Buck, Earthquake") left this dimension on 12/30/2024. He arrived in our dimension on 10/02/1952 in Schnectady, New York, the son of James W Nickolaus and Winifred Bongers. Shortly after his birth, the family moved back too the valley of his Grandparents. (Tri-Cities, Washington) He attended Christ the King grade school, two years in Madison, Connecticut and then returned to graduate from Kennewick Highschool. He was a graduate of Gonzaga University with a degree in Psychology and an extra year devoted to Fine Arts. A motor vehicle accident cut his graduate school short. He immediately went to work loading box cars. After a critical illness, he returned to the family business. He spent the next twenty five years traveling the country working as an inspector and field engineer at nuclear power plants. Eventually, he returned to the Tri-Cities to work on the River Protection project as the Lead Civil/Structural Inspector. He retired to the desert on five acres overlooking the Yakima River. He tended to his garden, wrote poems, published 3 books, worked on his poems, philosophy and his paintings.

Celebration of Life January 11th, 2024 at 11 AM at Mueller Funeral home 1402 Union St. Kennewick, Washington.

Survivors include his siblings James (Melissa), Janet, Cheryl, Karen (Gary) Kuhn, Kathy (Michael) Collier and Curt (Nancy). He enjoyed his many nieces and nephews throughout his life. Uncle Buck will be missed by them.