Born:  Harrisburg, Illinois

Army Service: Good Conduct Medal earned

Happily married to Joyce, the love of his life for 52 + years

Passed:  May 2011 , peacefully at home

Survived by his wife Joyce; their daughter, her husband, their seven children and their eleven grandchildren; their youngest son, his wife, their five children and their three grandchildren. Nick is also survived by his father, his brother and his wife and their two children, his sister and her two children.

Nick is preceded in death by his son and his mother

Nick was the strong, quiet type…except for the socks he wore!

Nick was a friend of God

He cherished each of his friends and neighbors

He always offered a lending hand

He was a dedicated believer, faithful servant, and willing volunteer

He always had a smile --- never met a stranger

He committed his life to working hard and providing well for his family

Loving and rearing (literally) his children in the admonition in the Lord

He loved his wife.  Together they loved and raised their children to be the wonderful people they are today

To his Lord, Nick was a good and faithful servant

To his wife, Nick was her faithful sounding board

To his children, Nick was their blueprint to build their life from

To his grandkids, Nick was “Papaw Cowboy”

I ask that each of you honor him by telling others how he touched your life.  When all the words have been said and all the songs have finished playing and all the well wishes have been offered, your testimony to the world about Nick will continue his legacy of the Golden Rule: “Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you”

From Marshall (friend):

Marshall had become stuck at the church's retreat. He, Nick and others were there doing cleaning, maintenance and repair work on the grounds. Nick headed down a levee to help out Marshall. As he approached the tractor, Nick's Jeep became bogged in the mud.

As Nick tried to free the Jeep from the mud it would slide sidways closer to the water. The more he tried to free the Jeep, the closer to the water it went. Two tractors were brought to the site to free the Jeep and Nick from the perils of the levee. As Marshall said, "Each time Nick would move the Jeep and it slid closer to the water, Nick would get this worried/anxious look on his face." *Pam thinks he was more worried about Mom getting upset over her Jeep getting muddy... : )

I want to share with you about how Nick touched my heart when I needed it. He asked me to help him with a special door knob problem. We extended our day to include a visit to his doctor and he treated me to lunch.

Afterwards, he said, "Let's go sit in the living room and talk. Something seems to be on your mind. You just have not been yourself since last Sunday." I shared with Nick how burdened I was. As our visit came to a close, Nick put his germ free protocol aside and leaned forward and gave me a much needed hug.

 

I was impressed that Nick put aside his personal needs in order to meet my needs!!!

 

Thank you, Lord. Your Brother in Christ: Charles

Silver Bullet Witness