Kirk Martin Nichols, 80, of North Platte, NE passed away on Wednesday, April 13, 2022 in North Platte. He was born on August 16, 1941 in Alexandria, NE the son of Howard M. and Georgene “Belle” I. Nichols.
Kirk graduated from North Platte High School in 1959 and remained very active in planning the class reunions. He attended college for several years at Univ. of NE at Kearney. He married his first wife, Mary in North Platte in 1962 and to that union three children were born. Mary passed away in 2002. He married his second wife, Vicki Hansen in 2011.
Kirk started his career as a draftsman for Hinde & Laurinat Architects. He then worked for James E. Simon Contractors, retiring in 2008. While at Simon his first large project was the North Platte Mall. He worked on most every large building construction project in the North Platte area and west central NE during his long career. In retirement, he formed his own company, Kirk Nichols Consulting, where he completed other notable projects in North Platte, including the Lincoln County Detention Center. He will always be remembered by his fellow co-workers and employees for his no-nonsense approach and style, but always willing to give anyone in need the “shirt off his back.” Kirk was so immensely proud of his hometown, developing many close friendships with his co-workers and acquaintances along the way. He greatly respected each of them and loved teaching anybody how to build things. Kirk was a great collector whose first love was collecting antique tools, especially wood planes. He was an avid coin collector, and stamp collector, having amassed an international award-winning collection of stamps, as well as writing a book about unique stamps. He enjoyed sharing his love of photography with his best friend, Don Milroy. He also enjoyed building wooden toys in his workshop. In 1995, he bought his pride and joy, a 1961 SS Chevy Impala which he rebuilt and restored from the ground up. The car appeared in the 2005 edition of the Snap on Tools calendar and won many awards at local car shows. He was Past President of the Buffalo Bill Stamp Club, served as a Boy Scout Leader, regional leader in 4-H, and taught Sunday School at 1st U.M. Church. Kirk will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved him.
Surviving Kirk are his 2nd wife, Vicki; daughter, Kelly Wolfe (Russ) of Kearney; sons, Kirk “Marty” Martin Nichols, Jr. (Jodi) of North Platte and Steen Nichols (Monelle) of North Platte; step-children, Tammy White (Mitch) of Sutherland and Trent Hansen (Stacey) of North Platte; brother, Charles Nichols (Mary) of CA; grandchildren, Samantha Lindahl (Carl), Alex Nunnenkamp (Eric), Kylie, Jessica, Caelen, Aili, Ainsley and Gianna Nichols, Allen Jones (Mary Jo); 13 great-grandchildren; step-grandchildren, Kenzie, Sydney and Jayden White, Haidyn and Harper Hansen; special niece, Suzy Spadams; special nephew, Mike Adams; several other nieces and nephews; and his beloved dog, Bert.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Howard and Belle; 1st wife, Mary; and brothers, David and Terry Nichols.
Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 at Carpenter Memorial Chapel. Burial will be private. Visitation will be on Monday, April 18th from 1 to 7 p.m. at Carpenter Memorial Chapel, which has been entrusted with the arrangements. Memorials will be designated at a later date by the family. Online condolences and sharing of memories may be expressed to the family at www.carpentermemorial.com.