Dal Nichols

Dal Bee Nichols, 87, of Pryor, Oklahoma, went home to be with Jesus on September 17, 2010. He was born in Octavia in the Kiamichi Mountain of Leflore County in southeastern Oklahoma on July 15, 1923, to Dodd Nichols and Alice (Corley) Nichols. He moved to Tulsa and graduated from Central High School, and then attended Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee until he joined the Army Air Force in December 1942 and was inducted in January 1943. He completed Flight Engineer technical school and gunnery school and became part of the 8th Air Force and was in combat as a B-17 tail gunner in the 303rd Bomb Group's Hells Angels stationed in Molesworth, England. He flew 33 missions, but was credited for 35, over Germany and occupied European countries. He flew from 1944 two to three months before D-Day to two to three months after D-Day and returned to the states and was assigned as an electrical system instructor on B-29 bombers. He was honorably discharged in September 1945. For his service, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, three Air Medals and Two Battle Stars. After the war, he was a sales trainee in the mill and industrial supplies business until 1948 when he went into manufacturing as a buyer, purchasing agent, material control, warehousing, production planning, material, equipment and finance in long and short terms through 1961. In 1961, he owned and operated a steel fabrication plant that had up to 20 employees which he sold in 1964. In 1964 he moved into sales of electric motors and was a salesman, district sales manager, divisional sales manager until he resigned in 1978. He continued as a sales representative with a private company and in 1983 became a sales representative for a small vending business. In 1988 he sold the vending business and formed an S corporation and worked exclusively as a sales representative for Evan Electric Motors. This pleasant association was terminated in March 2001 and the corporation was dissolved. From 1983-1993, he raised cattle on a 170 acre ranch in Rose, Oklahoma. In March 2001, upon obtaining his Oklahoma Real Estate License, Dal worked at Town Country Realty for a few years. He later returned for several years as a salesman once again for Evans Electric until his formal retirement. He served faithfully as a deacon for over 35 years and was a choir member for over 50 years at First Baptist Churches in Tulsa and Pryor. He also served as a Sunday School Department Director and Bible teacher for many years, and was a Gideon member and officer for over 17 years. He served six years on the Board of Governance Board of the Mayes County Medical Center in Pryor, two years on the Battered Women's Shelter Board and worked with the pastoral care program at the Mayes County Hospital for a number of years. Dal will be so very missed by all who knew and loved him. A Celebration of Life service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 21, 2010 in the Hayhurst Funeral Home Chapel in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma with Dr. Mike Cox officiating. The family will receive friends and family at the Shipman's Funeral Home from 6-8 p.m. on Monday evening. To leave a personal condolence to his family please see his web memorial at www.shipmansfuneralhome.com Arrangements are under the direction of Shipman's Funeral Cremation Service. Dal is survived by two half-sisters, Mary Grace Moreland and Delores Young; one son, Grady Lee Nichols and wife, Sandra of Siloam Springs, AR; two daughters, Sharon Lynn Nichols of Valparaiso, IN and Elaine Cadion and husband, Jerry of Beggs, OK; five grandchildren, Grady Lee Nichols II and wife, Lisa of Broken Arrow, OK, Matthew Cadion and wife, Kasey of Sapulpa, OK, Kelli Crago and husband, Charlie of Shiloh, IL, Amy Steffy of Brownsburg, IN and Jill Redmon and husband, Joe of Valparaiso, IN; eleven great grandchildren; son-in-law and daughter-in-law, Larry and Donna Lees of Pryor, OK and a host of other family and many friends. Dal was preceded in death by a brother, Bill Nichols; half-brother, Don Nichols; his wife of 61 years, Waneta Jordan Nichols and his second wife of 4 years, Avil Cooper Nichols.

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