Naaman Elwood Nickell
SUNSITES – Naaman Elwood Nickell, retired Arizona Republic Business Columnist, died peacefully at Northern Cochise Community Hospital in Willcox, AZ on April 29, 2022, at the age of 88.
Naaman was born on November 15, 1933, in Webbville, KY to Irene (Thompson) and Naaman Elwood Nickell. Naaman’s father died in a tragic accident before Naaman was born, and Naaman became his namesake.
He started school at age four in Webbville, graduated from Louisa High School in Louisa, KY and received his degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.
Naaman had a passion for small-town sports, having traveled the back roads of Eastern Kentucky with his high school teammates to play against other small-town teams, and that translated to his professional life in the small towns in West Texas where Friday Night Lights ruled the communities that spread outward toward El Paso.
He was sports editor at the Odessa American in Odessa, TX and worked at the San Angelo Standard Times in San Angelo, TX twice in sports writing and editing capacities.
Naaman met the love of his life, Anna Murphy Kinsey, in the Standard Times newsroom where she also worked during the second time he was employed there. When Naaman married Anna in 1968 in Lamesa, TX, Naaman, an only child, became big brother to Anna’s three younger sisters.
After Anna and Naaman married, they moved to Houston, TX where Naaman worked at the Houston Post. Their daughters Dawn and Amber were born in Houston.
In 1972, the family moved to Tucson, AZ during a time when a group of reporters ventured from Texas westward to Arizona. Naaman took a sports writing position at the Tucson Citizen, where he advocated for computers in the newsroom and transitioned to business writing.
Naaman took a job with the Arizona Republic in Phoenix, AZ in 1980. Business writing continued to be his focus, and eventually Naaman became business columnist for the paper. In addition to the Arizona Republic, he also worked for the Phoenix Business Journal. After retirement, he was a consultant for the Greater Phoenix Economic Council.
In 2001, Naaman and Anna discovered the village of Sunsites, a small development of homes in the southeastern corner of Arizona with views of Chiricahua National Monument and the Cochise Stronghold. The self-sufficient village welcomed volunteers, and Naaman and Anna began an active retirement lifestyle in the community. Naaman worked at the Sunsites Community Library until he decided to retire again at age 80.
Their love of the little village and of the history of the area led them to be two of the writers for the book Pearce and Sunsites, and they collaborated on Arizona Sunsites: An Anthology.
Naaman is survived by his wife of 54 years, Anna, and by his daughters Dawn Nickell (Dean Kratzenberg) of Dillon, CO and Amber Nickell of Atlanta, GA.
You may express condolences at westlawnchapelmortuary.com Arrangements entrusted to Westlawn Chapel, Mortuary and Crematory of Willcox, Arizona