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Virginia S. “Soulie” Nichols

Virginia S. “Soulie” Nichols

Virginia S. “Soulie” Nichols of Fredonia Place, died peacefully on June 14, 2019 at the Chautauqua County Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. She was born Virginia Ruth Soulie

on August 24, 1919, at St. Luke’s Hospital in Chicago, IL. She was the daughter of the late Ruth Christine (Linn) and Benjamin Harrison Soule. Virginia was the sister of Col.

Robert Frederick Soule and Dr. Benjamin Linn Soule.

At the age of 3, she and her family moved to Spring Lake, MI where Virginia subsequently attended Spring Lake and Grand Haven High Schools. Virginia celebrated her 17th

birthday just days before enrolling at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in the fall of 1936. She excelled at her studies, which included Latin, French, and Middle Eastern majors, encountering rocket scientist, Dr. Robert Goddard, along the way. It was there that she met her future husband, electrical engineering student, Andrew J. “Jack” Nichols in 1938. They were married on October 25, 1941, only weeks before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The newlyweds resided on Elmwood Avenue, in Buffalo, NY, until 1943. The couple then moved to Washington, DC where Jack was employed by future Navy Admiral, Hyman Rickover. It was during this time that Virginia witnessed the funeral procession of President Franklin Roosevelt and even caught a glimpse of Sir Winston Churchill and Madame ChiangKai-Shek in attendance.

The couple welcomed their first son, Andrew John Nichols, Jr., in 1946, at which time the young family lived in Pittsburgh, PA. In 1948, the family moved to Delevan, NY. Another son, Linn McCutcheon, was born in 1949 and a third son, Robert McAlpin, in 1951. A daughter, Virginia Ruth, came along in 1958. In 1960, the growing family found a permanent home in Fredonia, NY.

Virginia was active in many social and volunteer groups, including the Knowledge Seekers, The Fredonia Shakespeare Club, the Fredonia Garden Club, Brooks Hospital Woman’s Auxiliary, the Hillman Memorial Music Association and the American Cancer Society. She was also a huge fan of the Buffalo Bills and the Michigan Wolverines football teams.

Virginia is survived by her son, Robert, her daughter, Virginia, grandsons, David and Christopher, great grandson, Tyler and many nieces and nephews.

She was predeceased by her husband, Jack, and her sons, Linn and Andrew.

A Memorial Service will be held at 2 p.m., July 20, at the Fantauzzi Funeral Home, 82 East Main Street, Fredonia, NY. Relatives and friends may also visit with the Nichols family at the funeral home from 5-7 p.m. on Friday, July 19, 2019.

All arrangements have been entrusted to Michael R. Fantauzzi, Owner and Director.