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Mr. John Lee Nichols Jr., 85, 504 Siler Pl., Elizabethton, Tenn., went home to be with his Lord on Sunday, June 6, 2010, on his eighty-fifth birthday following a brief illness. He was the son of the late John Lee Nichols Sr. and Mayme Montgomery Nichols and was born in Eureka, Kan., and moved to Elizabethton in 2003. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a sister, Mary Jane Nichols and a brother, Richard Cleon Nichols.
He is a former Iola resident where he was an educator in the area school system. He moved to Elizabethton in 2005 from the Iola area.
Mr. Nichols graduated from McLouth High School in McLouth, Kan., in 1943. He attended Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, Kan., where he received a bachelor of science degree in elementary education, a master of science degree in elementary administration and an education specialist degree in school administration; he spent 25 years as an elementary school teacher and principal in the Liberal Schools, Liberal, Mo.; prior to his retirement in 1985 he served as the superintendent of schools in Cole Camp, Mo.
He was a World War II veteran of the U.S. Navy where he served on the USS Mt. Vernon, (AP-22) as a Baker 3rd Class. He had been a Methodist since 1938 and was a member of First United Methodist Church of Elizabethton. He was also a member of American Legion Post No. 49, a former member of the Lions Club and a member of the Disabled American Veterans.
Mr. Nichols is survived by his wife, Erma Jo Hixon Nichols, of the home, whom he married in August of 1949; a daughter, Kathy Jo Nichols, Elizabethton; a son and daughter-in-law, Kyle Irvin Nichols and his wife, Linda, Elizabethton; five grandchildren, Keith Nichols and his wife, June, Thornton, Colo., Scott Nichols and his wife, Natalie, Springfield, Ill., Kim Nichols, Murfreesboro, Tenn., David Settlemyer, and his wife, Heather, Longmont, Colo., and Cassie Settlemyer-Naley, Marin, Calif.; seven great-grandchildren, Jordan Nichols, Springfield, Ill., Sarina Nichols, Thornton, Colo., Jaid Hughes, Adam Hughes, Adriene Hughes, all of Elizabethton, David James Settlemyer, Staci Rain Settlemyer, both of Longmont, Colo.; and two step-grandchildren, Jeri Hughes and her husband, Jason, and J.P Parsons, all of Elizabethton.
A family inurnment will be held in Iola, Kan., at a later time.
Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.tetrickfuneralhome.com and signing the guest book or by fax at (423) 542-9499.
Tetrick Funeral Home, Elizabethton, is serving the family. Office number is (423) 542-2232 and obituary line is 543-4917.
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