Ralph C. Nichols

Ralph Calvin Nichols was born in Strathmore, CA to Arthur V. Nichols and Phebe Ruley McClure on April 13, 1923.
The family moved to the Whittier area, where Ralph attended grade school and graduated from Whittier High School. In high school he participated in choirs and performed in the National High School Chorus for the Music Educators National Conference in 1940. He attended Fullerton Junior College for a year, then transferred to Whittier College. It was while he was at Whittier that WWII began, and he volunteered for the Army.
During his training for the Army Signal Corps, he was stationed in Omaha, NE. It was there he met Mary Belle Coleman. After a whirlwind courtship, they married right before he was to be shipped overseas. They spent their first two years of married life communicating by letter. After spending two years in Hawaii, as an encoder/decoder for the Pacific Campaign, he returned home to Mary Belle. They moved to California for him to complete his education on the GI Bill.
After graduating from Whittier with a teaching credential, he began his life’s mission of educating young minds. He started teaching in a junior high but quickly found his place in high school. Before moving to Oxnard he was able to teach for several years at his Alma mater, Whittier High School. He taught at Oxnard High School and was there during the earthquake of 1957 when Oxnard High School sustained significant damage. In 1959, he helped to open Hueneme High School, and taught there until his retirement in 1983. He taught Civics, History, and Social Sciences.
His retirement found him traveling with Mary Belle all over the United States, Canada, Mexico, along with a trip through the Panama Canal. By car, train, plane, and cruise ship, they saw as many places as possible. Along with travel, spending time with their children and grandchildren was a favorite activity. Ralph also spent many days and hours of his retirement volunteering for choir groups, The Food Share, The Gideons, and at St. John’s Regional Medical Center. He loved to be engaged in doing good.
His surviving children and some of his grandchildren were able spend time with him this April celebrating his 100 th birthday. He died on May 27, 2023. He is predeceased by: Arthur and Phebe Nichols (parents), Elmer and William Nichols (brothers), Mary Belle Nichols (wife), Robert Ralph and James Raymond Nichols (sons). He is survived by: Jean Pizano, Marilyn K. Hamm, Judy Allen (daughters), Jenny Nichols (Rob), Cathy Nichols Washer (Jim), as well as Wini and Roberta Nichols (sisters-in-law). He leaves to carry on 13 grandchildren and 12 grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at Reardon Funeral Home, 511 N. 'A' St., Oxnard on June 17, 2023, 10:00 am. A graveside service for the family will follow at Conejo Mountain Memorial Park.

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