Herman Nichols, 91, died on Aug. 25 at the VA Hospice Unit, VA Maine Healthcare Systems, Togus.
Red was born in October 1923 in Richmond to Dora and Frank Nichols. The family moved to his mother’s family farm in Waldoboro when Red was a baby. He grew up in Waldoboro and graduated from Waldoboro High School and Bayliss College in Dubuque, Iowa.
Following high school, Red worked at Bath Iron Works as a coppersmith before joining the Navy in early 1943 during WWII. It was at Banana River Naval Air Station in Cocoa Beach, Fla., that he met and married his first wife, Doris Stoewer in 1944. Red and Doris lived in Galena, Ill. from 1946-1954, before moving to Augusta. After the sudden death of Doris in 1957, Red married Elizabeth “Betty” Tupper from Boothbay Harbor in 1959. Betty helped raise his four daughters until her death in 2006.
Red will be remembered for his gentle, kind, and generous ways. He had a lifelong love of cars and had owned at least 100 different cars during his lifetime. He spent the first half of his working career working at Clark Buick and Nichols Pontiac auto dealerships in Augusta. He switched careers and worked for the State of Maine, Bureau of Taxation, as a Revenue Agent and retired in 1985. Following his retirement he enjoyed gardening, playing bridge, and attending all the Maine fairs to watch the horse pulling competitions. He served as past president and member of the Maine Draft Horse and Ox Association. High school reunions and staying in contact with his childhood friends were very important to him.
Red is predeceased by both wives, Doris and Elizabeth Nichols; parents, Dora and Frank Nichols; and brother, Ernest Nichols.
He is survived by daughters, Diana Nichols of Gulf Shores, Ala., Constance Nichols of Portland, Sue Patterson and husband Robert of Kennebunk, and Audrey Nichols and husband Schuylar Ludwig of Vienna and Vinalhaven; granddaughters, Sarah Vertz Pearson of South Portland, Mary Vertz of Portland, and Jill Patterson of Naugatuck, Conn.; great-grandchildren, John and Audrey Pearson of So. Portland; companion of many years, Freda Pullen; sister, Frances Nichols Salowitz of Graybirch Nursing Facility; and several cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.
Red’s life will be celebrated at 12 p.m., Mon., Aug. 31 in a memorial service with full military honors in the chapel at the new Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Mount Vernon Rd., Augusta.
Memories, condolences, photos and videos may be shared with the family on the obituary page of our website at www.khrfuneralhomes.com
