George E. Nichols

George Earl Nichols, 76, passed away on February 7th, 2022, surrounded by his family at Overland Park Regional Hospital.  George was born on February 22nd, 1945, in Clifton Springs, New York, the oldest of three children to Earl and Betty Nichols. He was married to the love of his life, Donna Nichols (Hyman) on May 1st, 1965, in Port Gibson, New York. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Maryland, Wisconsin, Connecticut, then finally settled in Shawnee, Kansas, in 1975.  They spent their past 20 years in De Soto, Kansas.

George is survived by his wife, Donna Nichols, two daughters: Michelle Cooper of De Soto, KS; Kimberly Watts and her husband Derrick Watts of Shawnee, KS; six grandchildren: granddaughters Heather Inman and Hannah Inman; grandsons Hadyn McGrew, Trevor Watts, Shane Watts, and Andrew Watts; and two great-granddaughters: Madilynn Menear, Mira Bodensteiner.  George is also survived by his sister, Nancy Nichols and her partner, Ken Perryman, of Clifton Springs, NY, and his brother, Douglas Nichols and his wife Patricia Nichols of Lyons, NY.  He was preceded in death by his parents Earl and Betty Nichols of Port Gibson, NY.

George graduated from Newark High School in Newark, NY, in 1962. One of his first jobs was at Case Hoyt Printing in Rochester, NY, where he earned his journeyman certification as a color correction artist in lithography. George specialized in pre-press, four-color separations, and moved to several states before settling in the Kansas City area as a lithographer. George eventually became part owner of Graphics Four, Inc., in Lenexa, KS. He retired from lithography in the early 2000’s. In 2006, at the age of 62, George decided to go into the restaurant business as a franchisee owner of Culver’s of Kansas City, Kansas. Alongside his wife, Donna, as co-owner, and daughter Michelle, as general manager, George ran Culver’s of KCK until 2018.  George took pride in high-quality customer service and won several awards from Culver’s Corporation for being a top franchisee.

Although George possessed a relentless work ethic, he always made time for his hobbies.  In his youth and early adulthood, George was a talented musician. He was an accomplished accordion player, and an even better percussionist. George was most proud of his time marching with the 1965 World Champion Rochester Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps, where he played bass drum and got to play in Carnegie Hall.

Perhaps George’s biggest passion was his love for shooting sports. He was an expert trap, skeet, and sporting clays shooter, even competing on the Maryland State 5-man Skeet Shooting Team . He was also an avid hunter where he traveled the world including Africa, New Zealand, Argentina, Canada, and Alaska, to name a few. He was a member of the Safari Club International and proud, lifelong member of the National Rifle Association.

George was incredibly proud of his children and grandchildren who meant the world to him. It brought him so much joy attending various musical performances or sporting events. He lived for Friday night football where he could support his grandsons who were either playing in the band or playing football on the field.

George will be remembered as an amazing husband, father, and grandfather. He was a loyal friend and was passionate about all his endeavors. George’s work ethic was second-to-none, and he always strived to be the best that he could be, which he accomplished!

Services will be held on Saturday, February 12th, at First Baptist Church of Shawnee (11400 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, KS  66203) Visitation 10:00 am – 12:00 pm   Funeral service at 12:00 pm

Graveside service following at De Soto Cemetery (33435 W. 84th St., De Soto, KS  66018)

Celebration of life reception following graveside service (2:30-4:30pm) at the De Soto VFW (33725 W. 84th St., De Soto, KS  66018)

Memorial contributions may be made in George’s honor to the Tunnel to Tower Foundation (dogood.t2t.org) which honors fallen service members’ and first responders’ families.