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Ralph Arthur Nichols

Ralph Arthur Nichols '40

Jan. 27, 1919-Sep. 29, 2020

Ralph Arthur Nichols ’40, a successful attorney and Navy veteran who fought in the invasion of Normandy, died on Sept. 29, 2020, in Redding, Conn. He was 101 years old.

In 1942, after his second year at Yale Law School, Nichols pushed studies aside to join the Navy, where he rose from ensign to lieutenant. Over the course of his tour he sailed the world and earned multiple honors: an American Theater Ribbon; an Asiatic-Pacific Ribbon, with one bronze star; a European-African-Middle East Ribbon, with three bronze stars; and a Philippine Liberation Ribbon, with one bronze star.

However modestly he spoke of the experience, his role in D-Day at Normandy, France, was a feat of duty and will to survive. As he told Hamilton magazine in 2019, on June 6, 1944, he served as a lieutenant and communications officer on the U.S.S. Corry, a lead destroyer in the invasion of Utah Beach in Germany-occupied Normandy.

The Corry was shelled and went down, possibly from hitting a mine. One of the last officers on the ship, Nichols recalled how he ran below and, with the help of another officer, retrieved secret communications devices and code books to toss overboard to keep them from the Germans. Nichols survived in the water by clinging to a powder can. 

After the war, he returned to Yale to finish his law degree and built a distinguished career as an attorney even as he dedicated himself to family life. He always put family first, his children said in his published obituary.

Born on Jan. 27, 1919, Nichols grew up just down the Hill from Hamilton, in Clinton, a son of Arthur and Carrie Pitcher Nichols. He attended Clinton Central High School, where he was class president and valedictorian. His brother, Frederick Nichols, graduated from Hamilton in 1938.

A political science major, Nichols was an athlete and a leader. He played on the hockey, soccer, and track teams, and was selected for Quadrangle, Doers & Thinkers, and Was Los. A member of Chi Psi fraternity, he was elected class president, made the Dean’s List, served on the Executive Council, performed with the Charlatans, and was an elder of the College church and a member of the Chapel Committee and the Musical Art Society.

His post-grad contributions to Hamilton included serving on the Alumni Council, work he seemed to relish. In a reunion yearbook, Nichols wrote that it was a great experience. “Just to be on campus is a great nostalgic trip to the past. The College opened up a whole new life for me. It gave me lifelong friends, a great education, and days filled with fun and excitement. It all seems like yesterday,” he said.

Nichols spent much of his career practicing law in Stamford, Conn., specializing in trusts, estates, and corporate law. He retired in 2009. He served on the board of directors of the Bessemer Bank of New York City and on numerous civic organizations, including the Stamford YMCA and as a trustee of the Stamford Land Trust. 

“A varsity hockey player at Hamilton, Ralph also was offered a violin position in the Utica Orchestra, had an artistic eye with oil paints, loved to sail small boats, was a proficient carpenter, and most of all, a master storyteller. He was wise, caring, and kind until the last day of his life,” his obituary said. 

He was married twice, and both wives predeceased him. Survivors include his three children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Necrology Home

Note: Memorial biographies published prior to 2004 will not appear on this list.



Necrology Writer and Contact:
Christopher Wilkinson '68
Email: Chris.Wilkinson@mail.wvu.edu

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