Henrietta Nichols

Henrietta Marie (Hayson) Nichols, age 94, of Worthington, passed away on January 1st, 2017 at Riverside Methodist Hospital. She was born October 7th, 1922 in Chicago, IL to Frank and Henrietta (Hallam) Hayson. She grew up in Wilmette, IL, attended New Trier High School in Winnetka, IL, then Grinnell College and graduated from Northwestern University in 1944 with a B.S. degree in organic chemistry. She married Lt. Wayne Nichols in 1946 at Iowa City, IA after his graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. As an army wife, she “lived in thirty places in so many years”, including Ft. Hood, TX, Johnson Air Force Base near Tokyo, Japan, and Paris, France. for three years and traveled extensively in Europe. While living in Grosse Pointe, MI, she became an honorary member of Phi Gamma Nu, a national sorority in business administration and economics. After Wayne’s retirement in 1976 they moved to Worthington, OH where Wayne worked for the state of Ohio until his death. After her husband’s death she remained in Worthington, and worked for several years at the Worthington United Methodist Church, and then for several years at the Worthington Historical Society, alongside her daughter and granddaughter. She remained active in both organizations after her employment. One of her many interests was genealogy. She and a cousin co-authored two books and wrote several magazine articles about their common ancestors. Other interests included enjoying being with family members in the area, gardening and just being outdoors (walking, bike riding, cutting grass), etc. She liked to do handwork such as knitting, crocheting, and taught herself to tat which was very hard and resulted in lots of snarls. She and her daughter ran a crafting business called “Creative Critters & Crafts” for a time. She attended Cubs games at Wrigley Field with her father as a child and was thrilled to live to see them win the World Series in 2016. Henrietta was preceded in death by husband Gen. Wayne Stanley Nichols; sister Fannie Shefte; daughter Carol M. Nichols; great-grandson Christopher J. Nichols. She is survived by son Jay M. Nichols; granddaughter Colette E. Nichols; grandson Michael R. Nichols; great-granddaughter Susan A. Nichols. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Henrietta may be made to the Worthington United Methodist Church, 600 N. High St., Worthington, OH 43085 or the Worthington Historical Society, 50 W. New England Ave, Worthington, OH 43085.

Henrietta Nichols

October 7, 1922 - January 1, 2017