W. Kenneth "Ken" Nichols, Jr. slipped peacefully into heaven on Sept. 17 leaving behind the love-of–his-life, Veronica (Ronnie) Myers, his daughters, Wendy and Julie, his granddaughters, Evie and Lulu, and his sister Carol. He was born Feb. 6, 1940  in Baltimore MD to W. Kenneth Sr. and  Dorothy Spencer Gibbons

Ken and Ronnie  met on a blind date arranged by Ronnie's geometry teacher, Mrs. Green. Ronnie was sixteen, Ken was eighteen. It was not love at first sight, at least not for Ronnnie. "If you like him so much," she told her mother, "you marry him."  Three years later, Ken offered Ronnie a ring or a car. They were married Feb. 8, 1964 (by the way, she picked the car.) Sixty years later, he still told her she was beautiful and wanted to hold her hand.

Ken was a choir boy (literally) at St. Michael's Episcopal church in Baltimore, MD, a lifeguard at Claggett Frederick Center in Maryland and a cross-country runner with "aristocratic feet" too flat to be drafted. He attended Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, then the University of Maryland where he graduated with a B.S. in mechanical engineering. His first job was with Martin Marietta where he visited an oil rig off the coast of New Orleans and he "ate shrimp 'til he was silly."

Soon after they were married, Ken and Ronnie moved to Long Beach, IN on the shores of Lake Michigan. He sailed his little Sunfish after work and remodeled the house on the weekends, somewhere in between, becoming a father for the first time. Just about the time the kitchen, family room and deck were finished he got a new job and a second baby girl.

He packed up his family and moved them to the suburbs of Chicago where he remodeled another entire house. His workshop was his happy place where he smoked cigars, built custom furniture, crafted stained glass masterpieces and hosted his three girls for a fine dining experience of popcorn and peanuts. His second favorite place was the family room where he would build a fire and sit with his girls, playing board games, cooking fondue, sniffling over Little House on the Prairie or yet another Chicago Bears' loss. The family room also served as his office where he worked away – doing who knows what – on his computer, one of the first in the neighborhood, he liked to point out.

Ken was a happy camper with a pop-up trailer that he and his family took north to Quebec, south to Disney World, east to upper New York State parks and west to the Rocky Mountains. They hiked, biked, canoed and did "digested burps" around the campfire. Ken documented all of it, producing slideshows titled with commissioned art work by Wendy and Julie.

Eventually, he and Ronnie retired to LaFollette, TN where they built their dream house, designed by their daughter Julie. They also helped build about 20 Habitat for Humanity houses and an addition on their church where Ken balanced on scaffolding 15 feet up, Ronnie wringing her hands below. In his quiet time, Ken loved to sit on the deck watching the lake and the birds and combating the squirrels with his Super Soaker. But his most favorite-est place was at the captain's seat of his pontoon boat with a twinkle in his eye and a huge grin on his face.

In 2016, Ken and Ronnie "retired" again, this time to The Villages of Florida. He tooled around on his golf cart, sneaking off to the Golden Corral and "Wal-y World" stocking up on his secret stash of forbidden snacks. In 2023, they moved one last time to a cozy apartment at Trinity Springs where he passed away peacefully.

Ken was so many things to so many people: an engineer and handyman; a craftsman and photographer; a sailor and cyclist; a camper and canoer; and the world's best hugger. But most importantly he was… A Daddy, A Grampie and A Hubby. He was a wonderful man who will be dearly missed by many, but none so much as his three girls. Arrangements entrusted with BALDWIN BROTHERS Funeral & Cremation Society-Spanish Springs, 352-430-1449. Sentiments are encouraged at www.baldwincremation.com .