Ronald NICHOL

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NICHOL: Ronald Andrew Nichol, better known as Ron or Ronnie, age 68, passed away peacefully on March 30, 2016 at the Elkwood Manor Personal Care Home in Elkhorn, Manitoba. Ron was born in Killarney, Manitoba on December 24, 1947, second son to Ivan and Norma Nichol. Ron went to school in Rosevalley, Lena and Killarney Collegiate. Following school, he worked for Ducks Unlimited in The Pas and in the Kenton area; followed by the Department of Highways in Killarney. On July 11, 1970, Ron married his high school sweetheart, Miriam Stephenson. In 1972, Ron and Miriam started to farm south of Killarney where they farmed for 37 years. In 2009, Ron and Miriam retired and moved to Virden Manitoba to be closer to their family. Ron is survived by his loving wife, Miriam; his children, Morley (Kim) and Kyla (Patrick); his 8 grandchildren, Christopher, Courtney, Ryan, Ashley, Brandon, Cole, Jenelle and Ryder; his brothers, Wayne (Adelyn), Kelvin(Margaret) and Gordie (Barb) ; his sisters, Lorae (Wayne) and Loree (Clarence); his 3 uncles, Mert, Bob (Flora) and Harvey; and his aunt Kay(Don); plus many, many more relatives on both sides of the family. From Ron's eulogy:I would like to share a few reasons why I admire my Dad. First and foremost was his love and commitment he had for the love of his life – my Mom. My father provided for us an example of the strength of a man who truly loves his wife. He loved her fiercely and was committed to making her HAPPY. If it was important to her, it BECAME important to him. They were happily married for 45 years; she was always his first priority right to the end. He was blessed, or some would say cursed, with an independent wife, one with the expectation of working and not content to be kept at home. Dad was a man who was before his time. He was Mr. Mom before Mr. Mom was cool. He didn’t rely on reading books to raise kids; he relied on common sense values. The common sense values of saying what he meant and meaning what he said, he got straight to the point, “no buggering around” - as he used to say; we always knew what the standard was that he expected. My father was raised in a generation that worked hard and played hard. I saw him work hard every day on the farm with his brothers except for his 30 minute catnap after lunch. It was his holy time that you didn’t dare interrupt. Baseball tournaments with the Beavers all summer long and bonspieling in the winter were activities our whole family loved. Sports were important to him and so was having fun. He played hard but the work was always done, it didn’t matter how late the nights were or how early the mornings came. It was never an excuse to not get your work done. I also admire him because of the KIND of father he was to us. Yes, he loved us... very much. But he also instilled in us a core value system that defined who HE was. And that was a man who kept promises. He honoured commitment and was a man of integrity. Whenever we stumbled, he could have accepted our complaining and moaning but he’d have none of THAT. He fully expected us to see things through, all the way to the end. There were many times that we came home in the wee hours but the pigs still had to be fed bright and early. Even if it meant a cold water wake up call. My Dad loved the outdoors. From his legendary moose hunting trips to our afternoons of gopher hunting which quickly got side tracked into picking for treasures in old abandoned houses and junk piles. He was a collector of many things but he especially loved his coin collection. As he got older, his love for hunting and trapping turned into a love of watching the animals and birds in their habitat. He was a teacher; he taught us to respect Mother Earth and to help keep her in balance long before it was the popular thing to do. He taught us how to work hard and reap the benefits of our labours, he taught us not to extend a curfew as the door might be locked. How to be patient and loving, how to drive the truck and how to have fun and then get to work in the mornings. Most importantly he taught us how to love and respect our mother above all else. My father can be defined in part I think by his sense of honour, by his understanding of right and wrong. He was a loyal man, loyal to his family, loyal to his friends and loyal to the values that he learned from his parents. He loved all of his family; nothing made him happier than when his whole family got together. The Nichol picnics were a highlight for him especially when farm beat town in the ball game. He will be looking down at all of us with much pride. If you are here today, and I thank you for that, this means that he touched your life in some way or another. It gives us strength knowing our family and friends share in our grief. This amazingly kind and generous soul will be missed. His grandchildren will miss the bubble gum boss and the ultimate rock finderMy mother will miss having her best friend by her sideWe will miss our father, his strength, his guidance and his unconditional love.And don’t forget Dad, “ don’t take any wooden nickels”.

As published in Brandon Sun on Apr 16, 2016