Joseph C. Nichol

Joe was born at home in Tacoma Washington in 1918. He had an amazing life and could recount details with such clarity. He could tell you what life was like during the Great Depression and then when he lost his father in 1934, how his mother made do with very little for him and his four other brothers and sisters. He worked at Flett Dairy in Tacoma to work off the milk bill for his family. He “rode the rails” to California to look for work. He joined the Civilian Conservation Corp at age 17 and sent the majority of his pay home to his mother and then joined the Army at age 19 before WWII until he was honorably discharged. He fished in Alaska on a pile driver building fish traps, worked on a ranch in Wyoming, worked as a “carnie”, meat cutter and truck driver. He later married Ruth (to whom he was married for 50 years until her death in 2003) and had four daughters. Joe was a wonderful carpenter and built furniture and even a cabin in Eatonville. He loved to travel and camp with his family. He particularly loved the mountains, fishing and hiking and just being in the woods. When he wasn’t traveling, he loved gardening and raising chickens and cows, cooking and winning at cribbage. Throughout his life, he had been a devout Catholic and practiced his faith daily. Joe was a man of many talents but I think that he will be most missed for his sense of humor, his kindness and a ready smile and wave. He now joins Ruth, his beloved wife, and the many family and friends who were waiting for him. He will be greatly missed by his sister, Margaret, his daughters- Catherine (Aldo), Ann, Mary Lynn, and Sharon (Paul), grandchildren-Jennifer, Christopher, John, Elizabeth, Caroline, Joseph, Wendy and Anthony, great grand children Michael and Katherine and the many family and friends whose lives he has touched. A funeral mass will be held at All Saints Catholic Church in Puyallup, Washington on May 14, 2010 at 2:00pm with burial at Calvary Cemetery in Tacoma.