He is preceded in death by parents, Ford and Helen Nichols; and seven of his nine siblings.
Charles is survived by his wife, Joyce; five children, Christine Kelly, Timothy (Patty) Nichols, Susan Jansma, Ellen (Matt) Lendt, and Stephen (Jeanne) Nichols; fifteen grandchildren; seventeen great-grandchildren; sister, Doris Reed; brother, Jimmy Nichols; and extended family and friends.
Charles was an Independent Fundamental Baptist Pastor for 44 years. He and Joyce were married for sixty-five years. He pastored two churches, the First Baptist Church of Cody, Wyoming, and Independent Baptist Church of Ramsey, Minnesota.
He was a Faithful Servant of God, Preacher of God's Word, Soulwinner, and gave his life to discipling God's people to be Rooted and Grounded in their Faith. He loved God-Honoring music, hearing his wife play the piano, listening to his family sing praises to the Lord. In his early life, he was a great athlete, averaging 30 points a game in high school basketball. Later on playing independent basketball, he had the opportunity to play in a game against the Harlem Globetrotters. His ambition in those days was to be an engineer and a high school basketball coach, however, God changed his heart, and he spent his life in the ministry of the local New Testament Church.
Charles was the founder of Park Christian Schools in the state of Wyoming, the first Christian K-12 School West of the Mississippi. He served many years at Castle Rock Baptist Camp and the Inter-Mountain Baptist Fellowship. He enjoyed woodworking, hunting, gardening, reading, fixing things, auctions, and going to garage sales with his wife.
Join us to Celebrate Charles' Life on Saturday, February 20th, at 1:00 pm at Independent Baptist Church of Ramsey, 15650 Sunfish Lake Blvd NW, Ramsey. Viewing will be held at the church one hour prior to the service. His son-in-law, Pastor Matt Lendt, who succeeded Charles as pastor of IBC, will be presiding over the service.
Private Interment at Fort Snelling will take place on Monday, February 22nd, 2021.
If you would like to help the family with expenses, please send any donations to Independent Baptist Church of Ramsey or to the family's GoFundMe at the following link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/2a5krtbd80?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet
Fond memories, photos, and expressions of sympathy may be shared below for the Nichols family.
