Retired Commander James Larion Nichols

James L. Nichols (or "Larry" or "the Commander" as he preferred) was born on February 15, 1935 in Alamance County, North Carolina. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a focus on pre-med. Larry, a retired US Navy Commander and aviator served 22 years. He served three tours of duty in Vietnam. As an aviator, he flew North American T-28B and Beech T-34 C Mentor Trainers, P2V5 Neptune submarine Tracker, was in the first group of pilots to transition from P2V5 Neptune to the First P3 Orions plus flew multiple versions of the P3 Orions as well as squadron leader of the VP 50 Blue Dragons at NAS Moffett Field in Mountain View, CA.

Larry was an avid lover of golf, airplanes, sailing, trains, history, politics, travel, and had a blunt sense of humor and, at times, eclectic style. He could put any one at ease, a very likable person. Our earliest memories of him were filled with BBQs, camping trips, trips to military bases, as well as his unique perspectives and humor on life. Larry exposed his children to the importance of critical thinking (and cajoled non-critical thinking as "muddled") and the importance of family, religion, integrity, loyalty, and patriotism. With Larry, you were either "in the circle of trust"- or you weren't. However, he was extremely generous and always made people feel respected and seen. Larry had an intense admiration for Andy Rooney of "60 Minutes" and loved many of his quotes like "If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it" plus "I've learned that life is like a roll of toilet paper, the closer it gets to the end the faster it goes." At one point, he let his eyebrows overgrow like Andy Rooney because it made him smile. He wore the same suspenders as Larry King to keep his trousers on. Larry had so many things that were unique to him from his favorite wines, to his particular brands of coffee, cakes, liquors, wine, grits, chocolate, steaks and more. If he liked something, he was sure to buy you it.

Larry (Graduate of University of North Carolina) married his high school sweet heart, Maxine Frances Smith (Graduate of Duke University) and were married until her passing in 2013 in Grapevine. They had five children and were stationed in many places around the country. Each of his children were born in different Naval ports. Larry was preceded in death by his parents, James Rae and Doris Brandon. He didn't remarry after the passing of his loving wife Maxine, he grieved the loss until his passing.

He is survived by his siblings, Joe and Anne; his children, Dale of Grapevine TX, David of San Jose CA, Beth of Liberty Hill TX, Karen of Grapevine TX, and Keith of Georgetown TX; as well as Ryan & Sara (son and daughter of David & Dolores), Devin & Tyler (sons of Beth), Travis & Brandon (sons of Karen) plus many nephews and nieces.

A visitation for James will be held Wednesday, January 11, 2023 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM at Bluebonnet Hills Funeral Home, 5725 Colleyville Blvd., Colleyville, Texas 76034, followed by a funeral starting at 1 PM.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.bluebonnethills.com for the Nichols family.