Albert Charles “Chuck” Nicholls handed away peacefully at Lacombe Neighborhood Hospital in a single day on Saturday together with his spouse of fifty years by his aspect, following a brief battle with Pancreatic Most cancers. He was 70 years previous. He’s survived by the love of his life, Marilyn, and their two youngsters, Cori (Cameron) and Mark (Dana) and his grandchildren Kayden, Kiara, Audrey and Sophia. He additionally leaves behind his sister, Kim (Dan) Commerford and brother, Tavis Nicholls, his beloved nieces Jessica (Brad) and Stacy (Dan) and their youngsters and his mother-in-law, Joan Fraser, brothers-in-law, Don (Marlene) and Ken (Danita), sister-in-law, Anne Fraser, and their youngsters and grandchildren. He was predeceased by his mother and father, Ronald and June Nicholls, father-in-law, Roy Fraser and brother-in-law Dave Fraser.
Chuck was born in Montreal, Quebec in November 1953 and spent his childhood on Royal Canadian Air Forces bases all over the world, together with postings to France, Belgium and Sardinia. At 12, he almost misplaced his life when a campfire accident induced him to undergo burns to nearly all of his physique. He left highschool at 16 to affix the Canadian Armed Forces and perform the household custom of army service. He labored as a weapons Technician within the Royal Canadian Electrical Mechanical Engineers (RCEME) regiment, finally reaching the rank of Corporal.
In 1973, whereas posted to Edmonton, Alberta with the army, he met Marilyn Fraser and their love story started. They have been married within the fall of 1973 after which have been posted to Shilo, Manitoba, the place Marilyn held down the fort whereas Chuck was deployed to Egypt as a United Nations Peacekeeper within the battle within the Golan Heights in 1974. A month earlier than the beginning of his daughter, Cori, in late 1976, he selected to retire from the army and their new household relocated to Marilyn’s hometown of Provost, Alberta. His civilian life began with fatherhood and a journeyman ticket in Agricultural Mechanics. In 1978, his son Mark was born. His subsequent journeyman ticket in Locksmithing introduced him to begin Nicholls Lock and Key and fuelled his ardour for all issues Lock that continued to the very finish.
In 1982, the household moved to Wainwright, Alberta, the place Chuck began Wainwright Lock and Key. For a number of years, the enterprise was a mainstay within the city and advanced to mirror the wants of the world – including trophies and engraving, bike restore, used guide gross sales and a tattoo parlour. There was nothing that he believed he couldn’t study and excel at if he discovered a necessity for it. All through the Nineteen Eighties, he was a volunteer firefighter with the Wainwright Fireplace Division. After promoting the enterprise, he went on to work for Superior Propane first as a bulk truck driver and was later transferred to Pink Deer as Operations Supervisor, relocating the household to Lacombe in 1989.
Chuck all the time had a powerful entrepreneurial spirit and all the time dreamed of proudly owning a secondhand retailer so he might tackle his love of storage gross sales and auctions and construct a profession on it. He was all the time listings of shops on the market in Alberta and BC. When he was laid off from Superior within the middle-management layoffs of 1993, he took full benefit of a startup program supplied by the federal authorities and began Lacombe Secondhand and Lacombe Locksmith, on Freeway 12. For 20+ years, Chuck and Marilyn ran their profitable enterprise from that location, later evolving into an vintage mall when the bodily results of ageing made the tempo of holding a secondhand retailer tough. December 2016, he retired.
However should you suppose that will gradual him down, you’d be mistaken. Chuck and Marilyn launched into two cross-country adventures of their RV – seeing places throughout Canada and the USA that they’d all the time dreamed of seeing collectively. He stuffed his spare time gathering padlocks, driving his bike, and being concerned with the native Veteran’s group.
He travelled the world. He swam within the Mediterranean making pals with the octopi. He rode each curve a bit of too quick on his bike and he beloved weaving by means of the mountains or zipping all the way down to the Sturgis Bike Rally. He loved his grandchildren immensely and every of them has particular reminiscences of abilities he taught them. He didn’t consider something was past his means. He beloved just about every part about locks. He couldn’t get sufficient of his bikes. He skydived together with his youngsters. He instilled a curiosity and love of lifelong studying in his complete household. He lived laborious. He beloved laborious. He deserved higher than a late analysis of Pancreatic Most cancers. He fought to the bitter finish and by no means let it kill who he was at his very core. Even on the finish – he left us with reminiscences that can make us smile endlessly.
Chuck didn’t want to have a funeral. His household encourages everybody to get pleasure from some bacon or ice cream in his reminiscence and bear in mind a time he made you smile together with his distinctive observations. He’s now driving his dream bike by means of the celebs. Subsequent time you see a taking pictures star, want him a protected journey.
In lieu of flowers, the household asks that donations be made to both a Veteran’s Meals Financial institution wherever you reside or towards any group looking for an early analysis answer to Pancreatic Most cancers.
To ship flowers
to the household or plant a tree
in reminiscence of Chuck Nicholls, please go to our floral retailer.
