Frederick R. Nichols

Frederick Robert Nichols, 68, of Tyler, went home to be with his Lord Jesus Christ on Sunday, March 1, 2015. A graveside service will be held at Rose Lawn Cemetery at 1:00 PM, Friday, March 6, 2015 followed by a memorial service celebrating his life held at 2:00 PM in the Worship Center of Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler, with Rev. Glenn Price officiating. Visitation will begin immediately after the service in the Galilee room. Fred was born in Daytona Beach, Florida to Bertie Elizabeth and Thaddeus Lee Nichols, two Arkansas natives who had moved to Florida five years earlier to head the First Baptist Church. He was the youngest of four children, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they grew up in the church. He always had a great love for the Lord and the scriptures, and his mother said she thought he would become a preacher one day like his daddy. Although not from a pulpit, he always had a love for public speaking, and continued throughout his life to share the gospel and his love for Christ to all he knew. He taught Sunday school at Green Acres Baptist Church for over thirty years. Fred was quarterback of the football team at Seabreeze High School, and graduated in 1964 with a football scholarship to Florida State University. His oldest brother, John, was living in Texas, and persuaded him to attend Baylor University, in Waco, Texas, instead. During the fall of his junior year, Fred saw a beautiful freshman girl named Emily Maberry outside of the Collins dormitory. They met, fell in love immediately, and were married that summer on August 18, 1967. After graduating from Baylor in 1968 Fred and Emily moved to Houston where Fred worked as a CPA for Peat Marwick, Mitchell & Co. It is here that their first two daughters were born. In his last year at Peat Marwick Fred logged more than 800 hours of overtime. Knowing he couldn’t do that for the rest of his life, he took an offer from one of his bank clients at Commercial Bank in Nacogdoches, Texas. Fred loved banking, and his family grew with the birth of their third daughter. Fred and Emily moved their family to Tyler when he was offered the job of controller at Peoples National Bank. From 1975 to 1980 Fred held the post of senior vice president at Peoples. Through his work on the finance committee at Green Acres Baptist Church, Fred met Bob Rogers. Fred left the bank to join Bob at TCA Cable as treasurer of the company’s subsidiaries. Fred worked closely with Bob Rogers and considered him one of his mentors. When Don Cowan retired, Fred became Chief Financial Officer of TCA. In 1981 Fred helped the company go public, and in 1983 he was named Chief Operating Officer. A year later Bob Rogers named him President. In September of 1997 Fred was named chairman and CEO of TCA Cable and in June of 1999 TCA sold to Cox Communications. Fred stayed on for a year to help with the transition and retired in 2000. Fred had many offers to join other companies, but in August 2000 he had a heart attack followed by quadruple bypass surgery. He decided to give up the fast paced lifestyle he had lived in the corporate world and stayed retired. Although he was on the board of several companies, and enjoyed philanthropic work, most of his time was spent with his family. He found much joy in attending all of his grandchildren’s events, and was able to nurture a relationship with all of them. Every time he saw them he said, “I love you, and I love Jesus!” Fred Nichols was preceded in death by his parents, Bertie Nichols Roy and Lee Nichols, his sister, Joy Kadison, and his brother, John Nichols. Survivors include his wife Emily Maberry Nichols; daughters and sons-in-law, Melanie and Kevin Braughton, Lynda and Bill Evans and Elizabeth and Dale Boone; eight grandchildren, Blakely, Kristin and Collin Braughton, Emily and Lauren Evans, and Kaitlyn, Caroline and Nic Boone all of Tyler. Also his brother, Dan Nichols, of Daytona Beach, FL, and many other beloved relatives and close friends. Honorary pallbearers will be his sons-in-law, grandsons, members of the NSPL, the “Doughboys”, the men of the Geese Sunday Morning Bible Study, and the politically incorrect lunch group. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Green Acres Baptist Church Foundation, 1607 Troup Hwy, Tyler, TX 75701 or The Boys and Girls Clubs of East Texas, 504 W. 32nd, Tyler, TX 75702.

Frederick R. Nichols

July 7, 1946 - March 1, 2015