Dick Nichols

Dick Nichols
Dick Nichols
Born	Richard Dale Nichols; 29 April 1926 (age 100); Fort Scott, Kansas, U.S.
Died	7 March 2019 (aged 92); McPherson, Kansas, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Banker, politician
Known for	U.S. Representative for Kansas's 5th congressional district (1991–1993)

Richard Dale Nichols (April 29, 1926 – March 7, 2019) was a banker and politician from the United States who represented Kansas's 5th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives for a single term.

Life and career

Nichols was born in Fort Scott, Kansas and completed his Bachelor of Science degree at Kansas State University in 1951, following his service as a U.S. Navy ensign between 1944 and 1947.

Throughout his career, Nichols occupied various positions such as informational counsel to the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, associate farm director for radio and television outlets in Topeka, Kansas, and agricultural representative at a banking institution in Hutchinson, Kansas. From 1969 until his resignation in 1990 after being elected to Congress, he led Home State Bank in McPherson, Kansas as president and chairman.

Nichols was actively engaged in Republican Party activities, including membership on the Kansas State Republican Executive Committee. He also served as a delegate at the 1988 Republican National Convention and chaired the party organization for Kansas’s Fifth Congressional District from 1986 through 1990.

In July 1986, Nichols and his wife were victims of a stabbing incident aboard the Staten Island Ferry in New York City; he made a full recovery with assistance from then-Mayor Ed Koch.

As a Republican candidate, Nichols secured election to the One Hundred Second Congress (1991–1993) after narrowly winning a six-way primary contest that included future FDIC Chair Sheila Bair. Due to reapportionment following the 1990 Census which reduced Kansas's House delegation from five to four seats, Nichols’s district was eliminated. He sought the Republican nomination in the newly configured 4th district but was defeated in the primary by Eric R. Yost, who subsequently lost to incumbent Dan Glickman in the general election.

Personal life

In 1951, Nichols married Connie Weinbrenner. The couple had three children together. Connie earned four academic degrees and served as a professor at McPherson College before her passing from cancer in 1994. Nichols remarried in 1996 to Linda.

Dick Nichols passed away at his residence in McPherson, Kansas on March 7, 2019, at the age of 92.

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