Carl Andrew Nichols

Carl Andrew Nichols was born on April 21, 1927, in Mount Judea, Arkansas to David and Ella Nichols. They moved to Tranquillity, California, where he met the love of his life, Marie Guillroy. Carl and Marie were married in 1947 and celebrated 54 years of marriage before Marie’s death in 2002. They lived together in the Tranquillity area, where they had three children and nurtured relationships with family and made lifetime friends. A job change in 1966 allowed them to move to Riverdale, where they raised their family. Then, in 1994, they moved to Laton to be closer to the Kings Country Club, so that Carl could play golf on a regular basis. They resided together in Laton until Marie’s death. Carl passed away Sunday morning, December 15th due to complications from a gall bladder infection surrounded by family and angels from Heaven. He is the last surviving member of his generation of the Nichols family as well as the last of his life-long friends to reach his eternal home. Carl now resides in Heaven where he can play golf 24-7, free of pain and suffering, and be reunited with his precious wife, family, and close friends.

Carl is one of the Greatest Generation, having lied about his age to join the Navy, in order to defend our nation in World War II. He proudly served on the USS Comstock and the USS Oak Hill and was honorably discharged once the war ended in 1946. Shortly after his return from the war, he married Marie Guillroy and started their family. He worked for Fresno County earning $180 per month and they could barely make ends meet. After one year, he began farming with Jack Jones Farms, specializing in cotton, grains, and sugar beets. He was a volunteer firefighter for the Tranquillity Volunteer Fire Department and a member of the local Lions Club.

In 1966, Carl made the decision to move to Five Points and manage the JB Hawkins Ranch, which specialized in grain and cotton as well. However, farming in the Westside was vastly different than farming in Tranquillity due to the soils and the irrigation methods. Carl soon became the local expert as to how to manage water and produce excellent yields. In 1968, Frank, Tony, & Joe Coelho purchased the Hawkins ranch and renamed it Linda Vista Farms. Ultimately, Carl was responsible for managing over 9,000 acres of crops, producing excellent yields and profits for the Coelho’s – all without calculators and computers using his math skills, and a small notebook. Before the days of Google and the internet, Carl was nicknamed “The Wizard of the Westside” by Jean Errotabere as the most important single source of information on farming in the westside. Carl retired at the age of 81 years old to enjoy many years of golfing.

His fiercely competitive nature, athletic abilities, and love of the game of golf inspired him to shoot his age in a golf game at the ages of 78 to 86. He was often the most senior golfer in groups and loved it when he beat golfers that were 20-30 years younger than him. He made many friends and loved those days on the golf course laughing and making memories that will last an eternity. Even at the age of 91 and nearly blind, he had an awesome golf swing and could still hit the ball nearly as far as when he had his sight.

Carl was active in the Five Points Lions Club, Burrel School Board, Western Cotton Growers, and a member of the Kings Country Club. He was an avid fisherman, hunter, and airplane pilot. In recent years, he spent his days growing a garden and spending time with his family and his special friend, Loretta Billingsly. He would also love to play poker with great Riverdale friends.

Carl was an icon to not only his family but to many others that sought his advice and approval for farming, fishing, hunting, and golf. Many people considered him as a “father figure’ in their life and he will be missed by all that knew him.

Carl is survived by his children, Frank and his wife, Valerie Nichols, of Woodland, WA; Debbie Raven, and her husband, Tim, of Selma; and Douglas Nichols of Lemoore; 11 grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren and 3 great-great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, December 22nd from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM at the Stephens & Bean Funeral Chapel. Graveside services will be held at the Belmont Memorial Park on Monday, December 23rd at 10:00 AM.

The family would like to express its sincere appreciation to Dr. Henning Rasmussen and Dr. Anupama Poliyedath for their kindness, care, and support through these last twenty years.

Remembrances may be sent to the Central Valley Honor Flight C/O Central Valley Community Foundation 260 N. Palm Avenue #122 Fresno CA 93704 or any charity of their choice.