Ralph Arthur Nichols
Ralph Arthur Nichols, husband and father, attorney-at-law, and WWII veteran, died peacefully on September 29, 2020, in Redding, CT. Son of Carrie P. and Arthur B. Nichols and younger brother of Frederick L. Nichols, who predeceased him, Ralph was 101 years old. He was born on January 27, 1919, grew up in the village of Clinton, NY, and attended Clinton Central High School, where he served as president of his class and graduated as valedictorian. He attended Hamilton College, graduating in 1940, and matriculated at Yale Law School the following fall.
After his second year at Yale, World War II intervened, and in 1942 Ralph enlisted in the Navy, serving around the world. On D-Day, he was a lieutenant and communications officer on the U.S.S. Corry, a lead destroyer approaching Normandy’s Utah Beach. The Corry began to take on shells, and it is believed that it hit a mine, causing the destroyer to sink. Ralph, one of the last officers off the ship, was able to stay afloat for several hours, until he was picked up by another destroyer and transported to England. He later served in the Pacific Theater. During his full Naval tour, he earned 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.
Discharged in 1946, Ralph returned to Yale Law School, earning his degree in 1947. He passed the bar for New York in 1947; United States District Court (southern district) in 1949; United States District Court Connecticut in 1950; and Supreme Court of the United States Court in 1959. He began his career at the New York City law firm of Burke & Burke, then became associated with the Stamford, Connecticut firm of McGuire, Walker, & Middleton, finally joining Cummings & Lockwood, also in Stamford, in 1953. There he developed a practice in trusts and estates, as well as in corporate law, until his retirement in 2009.
Ralph served on the Board of Directors of the Bessemer Bank of New York City, as well as of numerous civic organizations, including the Stamford YMCA, and as a Trustee of the Stamford Land Trust. He was twice married: to Pamela Crow Bermingham from 1947 until her death in 1980, and to Victoria Requa Lally, from 1980 until her death in 2018.
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.
Ralph always put family considerations first, and he will be profoundly missed by his daughter, Jeremy N. Pierce and her husband, Ronald J. Pierce; his son, Ralph A. Nichols, Jr., whose wife, Elizabethann B. Nichols also is honored by the family in memory; his daughter, Melinda N. Mayer and her husband, Mark A. Mayer; and five grandchildren and their loved ones, including three great-grandchildren, along with his extended family, friends, and colleagues. It was Ralph’s wish that donations in his memory be directed to Hamilton College. For the safety of all, a service is not currently planned.