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Friends remember a 'gentle giant'
Surrounded by family and friends, Jimmy Nichols was laid to rest Tuesday after a brief time on Earth. However, he touched more lives than anyone may ever know.
Nichols died at age of 41 on Feb. 2. He was not just the head administrator at the Southeast Kansas Regional Correctional Center, he was a father figure, mentor and community leader. Bourbon County Attorney Terri Johnson often referred to him as a gentle giant. The courthouse was closed Tuesday so those who wished could attend his service.
"I always called Jimmy the Gentle Giant, and the reason is he was a big man but he had a very caring heart," she said.
Nichols's caring heart was displayed in many ways. One of the most prominent was his efforts to raise money for the jail's annual Christmas Toy Drive which collected funds to purchase toys for local children not only in Bourbon County, but in the Southeast Kansas region. Bourbon County Clerk Joanne Long said that one year, the fundraiser helped 38 families.
"It wasn't just a doll, it was bike or a Wii, you know, huge great presents for these kids," Long said.
Nichols was described by SEKRCC Programs Director Logan Probasco as a teacher who was compassionate yet firm when he needed to be. Probasco worked under Nichols for five years and worked his way up the ladder, the same way Nichols did. Nichols acted as a mentor to many of his employees and often referred to his employees as his kids, according to Bourbon County Sheriff Ron Gray.
"I can't describe everything he's done for me ... he was a teacher," Probasco said. "He showed me so much more than how to work the jail. He helped teach me life lessons. He, in a sense, was like a father to me."
Gray added, "That place over there is like a close-knit family and Jimmy made it that way."
In ways that the public may not realize, Nichols also cared for the inmates being house within the walls of the jail. He instituted the volunteer work program in which well-behaved inmates can volunteer to go out into the community to work on service projects such as repairing the rock wall at Gunn Park, cleaning up trash along the streets, debris that was left by a storm, or painting bleachers at local ball park.
Long said Nichols had created an atmosphere within the jail where if the inmates were good to the staff, the staff was good to the inmates. With Nichols at the helm, the jail's medical and food costs have been significantly reduced, she added.
"People probably don't believe it, but he really was very concerned about the inmates and making sure they were taken care of in the appropriate manor," Johnson said. "He took great pride in his job. He wanted to do it right and well, and he did."
As a reward for his innovation in his inmate management practices, Nichols was one of five jail administrators selected by the United States Department of Justice to assist in the revision of the current inmate management policies, Gray said.
"The U.S. Justice Department picked five jails in the entire country and he was picked first ... and he doesn't get to do that. That was such an honor," Long said. "It wasn't New York; it wasn't Chicago; it wasn't LA; it was Fort Scott, Kansas, and that's incredible."
Nichols, along with Gray, Probasco, and two others, were going to be heading to Colorado next month to participate in the revisions. As of now, the team's plans have not yet been decided.
"There was a team that was going. Of course, Jimmy was the driving force behind that," Gray said. "We're going to sit down and talk about it, re-evaluate and see what the others want to do ... Obviously, there's a hole there I can't fill."
Nichols's caring heart was guarded inside a powerful body. He founded the Bourbon County Power Lift Team. Denny Geoders, organizer of the Northwest Iowa Bench Press Classic in Emmetsburg, Iowa, said Nichols was always a crowd pleaser, bench pressing 550 pounds.
"He was a pretty accomplished bench presser, and he always brought the audience," Geoders said. "He was one of the people that the audience used come to see because of his power ... He was one hell of a bench presser."
Nichols's passing has also made an impact on Bill Carpenter, president of the United Powerlifting Association, who hosts two power lifting competitions in Dubuque, Iowa, each year. Nichols won first place in the drug-tested men's masters (40-44-years-old) division in both 2010 competitions. To honor Nichols's legacy, Carpenter said he has decided to change the name of the best lifter award -- given to the best pound-for-pound lifter in each category -- the Jimmy Nichols Best Lifter Award at the rest of his events.
"I'm just trying to do some stuff in memory of him because he was a good guy and a lot of people cared about him," Carpenter said.
Nichols was a resident of Bronson where he served as mayor for four years. He was a graduate of Uniontown High School and served in the U.S. Marines. He is survived by his wife, Sheila, his son Paul Nichols of the U.S. Army, Fort Campbell, Ky., his daughter Melissa Nichols and fiancé Derek Thompson of Springfield, Mo., his mother, two sisters, father-in-law, and several nieces and nephews.
Nichols passed away in the Allen County Hospital emergency room after suffering an aortic aneurysm. He was buried in Bronson Cemetery.