1936
John
2025
John Nichols
March 24, 1936 — April 13, 2025
John Nichols Jr, 89, of Rockford, passed away on April 13, 2025, in his home with family by his side the entire weekend prior to his passing. He was born on March 24, 1936 (his mother's birthday), in Amsterdam, NY, the son of John Gokas and Mary (Bara) Gokas. At the age of 13 he was adopted by his stepfather, John Nichols.
John graduated from Perth High School and attended Delhi State University. After college he joined the Army serving in the Philippines as a Sergeant in the Army Security Agency. While on route to Clark Air Force Base he and a few of his army buddies had a layover in Chicago where they stayed at one of their family home's. This is where he met his future wife, Judith Anell Wolf. John and Judith were married on August 2, 1959, after a 24-month letter courtship while he was serving in the Army. Judith passed on July 21, 2022.
John worked most of his career in industrial hydraulics working at Rapid Air, MTE Hydraulics and Delta Power for many years. His work allowed him to travel and have many adventures over the years.
John was very proud of his Polish heritage and was even recognized as the Polish Father of the Year. He was an avid fisherman and a wonderful tenor singer. He sang in many church choirs and in his retirement years he enjoyed singing at area assisted living and nursing homes. One of his favorite songs was Frank Sinatra's "My Way" as that song described him best as to who he was.
John is survived by his children Julie (Pete) Johnson, Jeff Nichols, Joanne (Kevin) Carr, Jeannine (Steve) Murphy, and Jeanette (Joe) Frazier; grandchildren Breanna Smith, Rebecca (Ryan) Benson, Jenae (Zach) Parsons, Torri Nichols, Ali Newman , Ashley (Mike) Cuddy, Anthony (Natasha) Wittemeyer, Megan Carr, Paul (Christina) Murphy, Adam (Cassie) Murphy, Jacob (Alyssa) Murphy , Andrew (Selina) Murphy, Mary (Callen) Feeney, Robert Frazier, and Joseph Frazier; great-grandchildren Levi, Quinn, Avery, Lysle, Luxton, Lowyn, Liam, Emily, Griffin, Aiden, Eli, Lyle, Mason, Ethan, Darren, Lisa, Shane, Chloe, Maverik, Nixon, Indy, Macoy, Banner, Bowie, Benton, Cormac and two on the way. He is predeceased by his wife and his parents.
The family would like to thank Lehman Bridges for his friendship to their father over the years and Northern Illinois Hospice for their patience and care of their father during his illness.
There will be a private family memorial service at a later date. Stateline Cremations is assisting the family, 6204 Forest Hills Rd., Loves Park, IL 61111. www.statelinecremations.com
John graduated from Perth High School and attended Delhi State University. After college he joined the Army serving in the Philippines as a Sergeant in the Army Security Agency. While on route to Clark Air Force Base he and a few of his army buddies had a layover in Chicago where they stayed at one of their family home's. This is where he met his future wife, Judith Anell Wolf. John and Judith were married on August 2, 1959, after a 24-month letter courtship while he was serving in the Army. Judith passed on July 21, 2022.
John worked most of his career in industrial hydraulics working at Rapid Air, MTE Hydraulics and Delta Power for many years. His work allowed him to travel and have many adventures over the years.
John was very proud of his Polish heritage and was even recognized as the Polish Father of the Year. He was an avid fisherman and a wonderful tenor singer. He sang in many church choirs and in his retirement years he enjoyed singing at area assisted living and nursing homes. One of his favorite songs was Frank Sinatra's "My Way" as that song described him best as to who he was.
John is survived by his children Julie (Pete) Johnson, Jeff Nichols, Joanne (Kevin) Carr, Jeannine (Steve) Murphy, and Jeanette (Joe) Frazier; grandchildren Breanna Smith, Rebecca (Ryan) Benson, Jenae (Zach) Parsons, Torri Nichols, Ali Newman , Ashley (Mike) Cuddy, Anthony (Natasha) Wittemeyer, Megan Carr, Paul (Christina) Murphy, Adam (Cassie) Murphy, Jacob (Alyssa) Murphy , Andrew (Selina) Murphy, Mary (Callen) Feeney, Robert Frazier, and Joseph Frazier; great-grandchildren Levi, Quinn, Avery, Lysle, Luxton, Lowyn, Liam, Emily, Griffin, Aiden, Eli, Lyle, Mason, Ethan, Darren, Lisa, Shane, Chloe, Maverik, Nixon, Indy, Macoy, Banner, Bowie, Benton, Cormac and two on the way. He is predeceased by his wife and his parents.
The family would like to thank Lehman Bridges for his friendship to their father over the years and Northern Illinois Hospice for their patience and care of their father during his illness.
There will be a private family memorial service at a later date. Stateline Cremations is assisting the family, 6204 Forest Hills Rd., Loves Park, IL 61111. www.statelinecremations.com
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of John Nichols, please visit our flower store.
Guestbook
Visits: 0
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors