Scott Markham Nichols, 60 years old, died alone on the evening of Nov. 4, 2022.
He was born at Camp Pendleton in San Diego, Calif., on Sept. 11, 1962. The son of Fred Nichols (Alton Kansas) and Irene (nee) Martyn Nichols (Doylestown, Pennsylvania). He is survived by his wife Wendy (nee) Bernhardt (Tyler, Texas), his mother a.k.a Marty, brother Brett, a son Ben and daughter Reagan as well as two nieces Phoebe and Eliza.
From 1970-1976 he lived with his family in the Philippines and Bangladesh where he and his brother attended International Schools in Manila and Dhaka. While his family remained abroad, Scott returned to the states and attended the George School, Newtown, Pa.; in his senior year he graduated from Central Bucks West High School. A gifted athlete, he played soccer, baseball and tennis on the teams of both schools. Later as a parent in Northbrook, he coached the neighborhood soccer team.
In 1984 he completed his bachelor’s degree in hotel and hospitality management from Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. Moving first to Minneapolis following graduation, he eventually settled in the Chicago metro area, his final residence Northbrook, Ill. For most of his career, he successfully worked in franchise sales for Holiday Inn, Dunkin’ Donuts and Sears Holdings Corporation as well as other companies.
Scott began collecting and selling baseball cards before his teens and continued throughout adulthood. Absorbed by statistics, he mentally retained stats for every Cub player as well as those for all professional baseball and football teams. As a friend noted, “if you went to a ball game with Scott, you didn’t need Google.” A stalwart Chicago Cubs fan, every season found him at Wrigley Field cheering his beloved team and often traveling to Arizona for spring training. His friends would say, “Scott was born wearing a Cubs cap.”
Never without a book or two, Scott was a voracious reader – often reading a book in a day. He loved history and biographies, having read numerous tomes like Robert Caro’s four volumes on Lyndon Johnson, and many other authors. He would request books as a present for his birthday or Christmas, but due to his prolific literary appetite, it was nearly impossible to find a book he hadn’t read.
Scott was also passionate about politics and a life-long admirer of Ronald Reagan. Influenced by the time he spent living overseas, Scott was also always fully versed in international affairs and political issues – he belonged to political organizations in his Northbrook district, and often campaigned for candidates he supported.
Cremation was private.
A memorial service took place with friends and relatives in attendance at The Village Church of Northbrook. https://villagechurchnorthbrook.org
Send condolences to www.varcoethomasfuneralhome.com.
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