Posted by Julie Nicolay on March 22, 2006:

Phillip E. (Pete) Nicolay, 1950 - Memorial Article, by Marion Nicolay Pete's home town was St. Louis, Missouri, and he was a loyal Cardinal fan as well as a member of Branch Rickey's original Knothole Gang. As a boy, he loved doing things with his father such as fishing and hunting - these were to be lifelong interests. He attended Western Military Academy in Alton, Illinois, and then became a third alternate for a Congressional appointment to West Point. The first man resigned his appointment, and the second failed the physical, thus Pete entered the Academy in 1945. A football injury as a Plebe held him back a year, so that he graduated in 1950. Those who remember him from West Point years recall a fine bridge player and an avid skeet enthusiast - he was a member of the Fishing Club and Skeet Club as an undergraduate. He could also be found on the slopes during New York winters, and became a competent ski buff. Pete chose the Infantry upon graduation and trained as a paratrooper at Ft. Benning, serving in the 11th Airborne Division at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. It was here that he married his wife Marion Barnes, an Army brat, in the fall of 1950. He was assigned to Korea with the Third Division in early 1952 and then transferred to the 612th Field Artillery Battalion on Okinawa in 1953, where Marion was able to join him for a year. Resigning from the Army as a 1st Lieutenant in early 1954, Pete became an aerospace engineer with Rocketdyne at Edwards Air Force Base in California for six years. He eventually became chief of all Rocketdyne operations on the base. It was during this period that he and Marion adopted two children, Julie and Phil. Pete took a year off from engineering to own and operate a small casino in Carson City, Nevada, a heady experience. He and Marion found the area one of scenic beauty, friendly people and the best climate they ever encountered during a life of moving around. In 1961, Pete returned to his first profession when he accepted a position with Pratt and Whitney in West Palm Beach, Florida, as a supervisor in their rocket testing program. He later transferred to Connecticut, working with aircraft engines and fuel cells. Raising children was a challenge and a delight for Pete, and he enjoyed watching them grow to maturity. He encouraged his talented daughter Julie in her musical ambitions, and helped Phil by teaching him to fish and shoot. He also coached and managed Phil's Little League teams. Julie now lives in Tucson, and Phil divides his time between New England and the Florida Keys, captaining boats for a New York businessman. Pete was also encouraging to his wife Marion when she decided to pursue a master's degree to teach art in a Connecticut high school. It was during the New England years that Pete fulfilled a lifelong dream of becoming a private pilot. In short order, Marion also took up flying and it seemed like a good idea to purchase a small plane of their own. They ultimately owned five such planes at different times, and even established an aviation mail order business which they ran out of their home for several years. He used to boast that they took their last plane, a Cessna Skyhawk, into 49 states (they never made it to Hawaii). They also flew to Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas in that same plane, nicknamed The Bluejay. Pete retired in 1982 and spent a short time working in real estate. In 1988, he and Marion moved to Marco Island, Florida, where Pete thought he'd gone to Heaven. He was a happy boat owner, loved the fishing in Southwest Florida and played golf and bridge as well. He and Marion went traveling to Europe several times after retirement, and spent many happy days cruising on commercial liners in the Caribbean. Some of these trips were with small groups, others just as a couple. They celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2000 by flying to Vancouver and boarding a liner to sail down the West Coast, through the Panama Canal and finally to Puerto Rico--a memorable trip. Pete served on the board of the Marco Men's Club for several years, and was a member of St. Mark's Episcopal Church on the island. After coming to Florida, Marion began writing a column for the local paper on cooking, and Pete enjoyed writing an occasional one as well. He was a superb and innovative cook, and assumed at least half of the kitchen duties later in life. For a year, he wrote a humorous column for the same paper entitled My Nickel's Worth, in which he poked gentle fun at local politicians, tourists and other tempting targets. When computers entered his life, he determined to master them and in time acquired enough expertise to untangle Marion's frequent problems and to help friends with their own computers. He never lost his love of bridge and history, acquiring a large library of historical books and atlases along the way. As he once said to his children, "Don't miss me too much when I'm gone - I've had a good run for my money and done almost everything I ever wanted to do." It's a fitting tribute to a much-loved man who enjoyed life to the limit, and made the same thing possible for the people around him.

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