Dottie Nichols was born Dorothea Mae Boesel to Albert and Clara Boesel on June 25, 1923. Her parents and grandparents were early homesteaders in Winthrop, where she was raised with her five brothers, Floyd, Vic, Charlie, John and Don (brother Albert drowned tragically at the age of 2). Surrounded by the eastern Cascade Mountains, Dottie grew up amidst all the hard work and beauty of a small, close-knit farming community, shaped by the values and bonds of family that she continued to cherish and express throughout her life.
After a year of college, Dottie moved to Tacoma to seek her fortune. She began in banking but soon entered the civil service, working in accounting at Fort Lewis, where she served faithfully for 30 years, retiring in 1978. After a first marriage to Richard Jones, she met career serviceman Hobart “Nick” Nichols. They were married in 1976, and Dottie became step-mother to Nick’s three children and step-grandmother to his six grandchildren. Having no children of her own, she felt greatly blessed by this new family.
Nick and Dottie enjoyed many happy years together, living in Spanaway, Washington, and frequently hosting or traveling to visit family, until Nick’s death in 2003. Throughout her life, Dottie was an active member of Lake City Community Church, helping with the Missions Committee and cooking and serving with Nick in the food program. Dottie passed away on June 17, 2019, seven days before her 96th birthday. She is survived by her youngest brother Don; step-children Donna Nichols-Laster, Becky Loveless, and Scott Nichols; many step-grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews and their children and grandchildren. Memorial service to be held at Mountain View Funeral Home and Memorial Park, in Lakewood, Washington, on Friday (July 19) at 1 p.m.
