Shortly after noon on a brilliant and unseasonably warm Sunday, February 5, 2023, Lawrence Dale Nichols, age 86, passed away at home with family by his side in McKinney, Texas.

Born July 13, 1936 to George and Miriam (Lewis) Nichols in Massena, New York, Larry grew up as an only child enjoying fishing, lacrosse and hockey. In high school he played quarterback on the football team. Larry graduated from Massena High School in 1954 and attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, graduating with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering in 1959. That same year, Larry met and married Francesca Talucci -- the light and center of his life for his remaining 63 years. When Larry was recently ill he still said, “Hi Beautiful” to Francesca at the first sight of her each and every morning.

Larry actively pursued the rapidly expanding field of aerospace where he would make his career, crisscrossing the country multiple times with his lovely young wife; from San Diego, CA to Titusville, FL with over fifteen “career stops” along the way. During that time, they had four children; three sons and a daughter before Larry’s last stop working as an Aeronautical Engineer in Maryland.

 At the beginning of Larry’s long and distinguished career, he worked with the Atlas missile, the first ICBM deployed by the US, testing it in California and deploying it in New York. He then joined Grumman, working a short stint on the F-111, first “swing wing” fighter before becoming one of the Test Engineers for the Lunar Module that landed humans on the moon as part of the Apollo program in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Later in his career he worked on the Hubble Space Telescope and the COBE satellite. The COBE mapped the cosmic background radiation showing evidence for the “Big Bang”, the start of our universe. Larry’s military and aerospace projects certainly rubbed off on his children; his oldest son attended the United States Naval Academy, and his two other sons are currently airline pilots – the youngest after serving twenty years as a Marine pilot and Commanding Officer flying both the F-18 and Osprey.  

While Larry’s career was certainly a main focus of his life, he also found time to teach his kids sports and attend their activities, leaving them latitude to “make their own mistakes.” By example, he taught his children that with a little study and a lot of effort you could do just about anything and need not fear the attempt – if something went wrong, just figure out why and start again.

 Larry had a wide variety of hobbies – rebuilding a 1950’s Morgan sports car, building an 18-foot Catamaran sailboat from scratch, building and flying U-control airplanes, as well as staying active in both the Masons and Shriners while in New York and Florida. Larry and Francesca were enthusiastic members of several square dance clubs both in Florida and Maryland. After Larry retired, he and Francesca moved to the Ironwood Golf Club neighborhood in Greenville, NC where Larry enjoyed golfing several times each week. After residing in North Carolina for over seventeen years they moved to their current residence in McKinney, Texas.

Larry is survived by his wife, Francesca Nichols of McKinney, Texas and children, Timothy Nichols of Dallas, Texas, Linda Lindbeck of Greenville, NC, David Nichols of McKinney, Texas and Lawrence Nichols of San Diego, CA, as well as ten incredible grandchildren -- who affectionately refer to him as “Grandpy” -- Lara, Erica, Benjamin, Britt, Christopher, Madisen, Giuliana, Wyatt, Jackson and Cooper.

The family is planning a private “Celebration of Life” reunion at a later date.