Richard
Richard H. Nickel
Richard Hans Nickel, age 81, of Aurora, Ohio passed away on Easter Sunday morning, April 17, 2022 at UH Ahuja Medical Center.
He was born on June 3, 1941 to Hans Ernest and Evelyn Lydia (nee Knebusch) Nickel in Boston, Massachusetts.
On September 11, 1965, Richard married Gail Virginia (nee Skully) after a courtship that began at the historic Euclid Beach Park. They remained married for the next 56 years. Together they raised one daughter, Gabrielle Celeste (nee Nickel) Meester.
Richard was a 1959 graduate of Euclid High School. He enrolled at Cleveland State University and transferred to the Case Institute of Technology (now Case Western Reserve University) where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering in 1964. He began his distinguished career in the aviation and aerospace component manufacturing industry at Trucast, Inc., where he worked for 11 years in engineering and sales. Richard moved to Mercury Machine Company in Solon, Ohio in 1978, where he would spend the next 32 years, retiring as the general manager of the organization in 2011. The friendships Richard developed at these companies endured for decades, and he continued to enjoy weekly get-togethers with the “guys.”
A devoted father, Richard embarked on countless adventures with his daughter Gabrielle. Whether it was horseback riding and camping with the YMCA Indian Princesses, deep sea fishing in Florida, or hiking the Grand Canyon, Richard loved the great outdoors and sought to share this love with his family. In later years, their adventures sometimes grew more wild, such as when they spent the night in the historic Mansfield Reformatory, and sometimes they grew more tame, as Richard spent endless weekends helping Gabrielle renovate her home. His company will be greatly missed.
Richard was a champion of animals, and animal welfare causes were dear to his heart. He had a particular soft spot for dogs and had the opportunity to be a loving and dedicated
dogfather
to many wonderful pets over the years. In his retirement, one was sure to find Richard traversing the parks of Portage, Summit, and Geauga county with his treasured Labradoodle Leila, making friends with all they met.
Richard was preceded in death by his father, Hans; his mother, Evelyn; his brother-in-law Kenneth Skully, and his beloved dog, Leila.
Left to cherish his memory is his wife, Gail Nickel; daughter Gabrielle (Robert) Meester; brother Kenneth (Verna) Nickel; brother-in-law Ronald (Darlene) Skully; sister-in-law Linda McQuinley, many loving nieces and nephews; and his extended “corporate family” at Mercury Machine Company and Plas-Mac Corporation.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Portage Animal Protective League, PO Box 927, Ravenna, OH 44266 or the Portage County Dog Warden, 8120 Infirmary Rd., Ravenna, OH 44266.
A private interment service will be held in the abbey of the Crown Hill Cemetery Mausoleum (Twinsburg, OH) at a later date.
He was born on June 3, 1941 to Hans Ernest and Evelyn Lydia (nee Knebusch) Nickel in Boston, Massachusetts.
On September 11, 1965, Richard married Gail Virginia (nee Skully) after a courtship that began at the historic Euclid Beach Park. They remained married for the next 56 years. Together they raised one daughter, Gabrielle Celeste (nee Nickel) Meester.
Richard was a 1959 graduate of Euclid High School. He enrolled at Cleveland State University and transferred to the Case Institute of Technology (now Case Western Reserve University) where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering in 1964. He began his distinguished career in the aviation and aerospace component manufacturing industry at Trucast, Inc., where he worked for 11 years in engineering and sales. Richard moved to Mercury Machine Company in Solon, Ohio in 1978, where he would spend the next 32 years, retiring as the general manager of the organization in 2011. The friendships Richard developed at these companies endured for decades, and he continued to enjoy weekly get-togethers with the “guys.”
A devoted father, Richard embarked on countless adventures with his daughter Gabrielle. Whether it was horseback riding and camping with the YMCA Indian Princesses, deep sea fishing in Florida, or hiking the Grand Canyon, Richard loved the great outdoors and sought to share this love with his family. In later years, their adventures sometimes grew more wild, such as when they spent the night in the historic Mansfield Reformatory, and sometimes they grew more tame, as Richard spent endless weekends helping Gabrielle renovate her home. His company will be greatly missed.
Richard was a champion of animals, and animal welfare causes were dear to his heart. He had a particular soft spot for dogs and had the opportunity to be a loving and dedicated
dogfather
to many wonderful pets over the years. In his retirement, one was sure to find Richard traversing the parks of Portage, Summit, and Geauga county with his treasured Labradoodle Leila, making friends with all they met.
Richard was preceded in death by his father, Hans; his mother, Evelyn; his brother-in-law Kenneth Skully, and his beloved dog, Leila.
Left to cherish his memory is his wife, Gail Nickel; daughter Gabrielle (Robert) Meester; brother Kenneth (Verna) Nickel; brother-in-law Ronald (Darlene) Skully; sister-in-law Linda McQuinley, many loving nieces and nephews; and his extended “corporate family” at Mercury Machine Company and Plas-Mac Corporation.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Portage Animal Protective League, PO Box 927, Ravenna, OH 44266 or the Portage County Dog Warden, 8120 Infirmary Rd., Ravenna, OH 44266.
A private interment service will be held in the abbey of the Crown Hill Cemetery Mausoleum (Twinsburg, OH) at a later date.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Richard H. Nickel, please visit our flower store.
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