Diane Nichols

Diane Nichols passed away May 6 in Abilene, TX, at the age of 84. Her leaving has made our world a lot less interesting. Diane was a vivacious spirit with a magnetic personality. She always lit up the room and was the very definition of charming, focusing on and amplifying people’s positive attributes and making everyone feel they were the center of her attention. She was an amazing cook with a gourmet palate and an eye for creating a sumptuous table. She had an unwavering sense of style and was always the belle of the ball, from “Best Dressed Girl” in high school, to a flight attendant during the glamor days of 1950s air travel, to cool career woman of the 1960s, and even insisting on having just the right outfits for her hospital stays at the end. She was a woman of strength, managing outstretched parenting duties as the wife of an Air Force Colonel that included two tours of duty along with managing the chaos of 36 moves to different bases around the world; suffering through the death of her young son; and yet somehow always managing to pick herself up and meet the day with a smile.

She will be missed, but we can only imagine the reunion with those that preceded her in death, including her beloved husband, Albert Payton Nichols; her son, Thomas Payton Nichols; her father, Leon Van Cleave; her mother Eileen Collins Van Cleave; and her sisters, Joan Vierck and Virginia Speer; and with her daughter Linda Lee Nichols, who passed away just four weeks after Diane.

Diane is survived by her loving grandson, Karl Nichols.

A memorial will be held for Diane and Linda, 10:30am on June 22, at Porter Loring North Funeral Home.