Billy Carl Nichols, 85, from Fort Smith, AR, passed away on Monday, October 12, 2020 at Baptist Health due to complications from COVID-19. He was born in a tin roof house along the Arkansas river in Plumerville, AR on October 3, 1935 to James Clark Nichols and Alma Louis Cates. He is preceded in death by his siblings, Opel Marie Nichols, Emma Jean Nichols, and Harold Junior Nichols.
Billy joined the Navy in 1954 after a recruiter visited him while he was picking cotton in the Portland Bottoms. He told the recruiter that he wanted to serve on a battleship and see Hong Kong. Billy left the cotton field that day and enjoyed a wonderful 30-year career as a Gunners Mate. He served on the USS Brister, USS Stormes, USS Hermitage, and USS Piedmont. He was stationed at Pensacola Naval Air Station, Naval Radio Station San Juan, Puerto Rico; Naval Magazine Guam, Rita, Guam; Navy Recruit Training Command, Las Vegas, NV; Naval Air Station, Sigonella, Sicily; Naval Station Newport, Newport, RI; Naval Air Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; and Naval Reserve Center, Fort Smith, AR. Billy neither served on a battleship nor saw Hong Kong.
After his military service, Billy worked for the Arkansas Highway Department and retired in 2003.
While serving as a recruiter in Las Vegas, NV, Billy met the love of his life, Joselyn Morris Hines, and they were married December 4, 1970 in Waukegan, IL. They were married for 22 years until her death on October 21, 1992. Billy is survived by his two sons, James Carl Nichols (Syracuse, NY) and Drake Morris Nichols (Fort Smith, AR), their wives, and his five grandchildren.
Billy taught his sons how to fish, play baseball, repair bicycles, mow, and drive. He provided an amazing childhood experience, raising his family in Sicily, Italy, Rhode Island, Cuba, and Fort Smith. He always supported his family and provided advice and guidance in his well-loved casual and confident manner.
Never one to be short of a story, many friends and family will fondly remember a “Billy Story”. Whether it was about a monkey in space, clotheslined while chasing wild dogs, fires in the magazines, or setting gun sites off by five degrees when servicing foreign military gun mounts, his stories were entertaining, hilarious, colorful, and loved. He will be missed.
Viewing will be 10 AM to 7 PM on Thursday, October 15, 2020 at Edwards Funeral Home, and the family will be present from 5 to 7 PM. A graveside Service with U.S. Navy Honors will be held on October 16, 2020 at 11:00 am at Plumerville Cemetery.
