John Giles Nicholson
Jan 29, 1928 -
Dec 6, 2024
John Giles Nicholson, 96, died peacefully on Dec. 6, 2024, at his home in Anchorage, Alaska.
Born Jan. 29, 1928, John grew up during the Depression. Hard times meant occasionally living with extended family and frequent relocations as John's father, Frank Nicholson, took on jobs in sales and wartime manufacturing. John's childhood included stints in Newark, N.J.; Mt. Vernon, N.Y.; Springfield, Mass.; Amherst, Mass.; Palmyra, Pa.; Indianapolis, Ind.; and Westport, Conn.
During high school in Westport, John joined the flying club and began learning to become a pilot. He had his license to fly before he could drive a car. "Flying for John was like being in his own personal heaven, I think," his sister Harriet wrote some years ago. After school, in 1946, he enlisted in the Marine Corps, where he said his lifelong love of coffee began. Not many years after leaving the Marines, John joined the Air Force. He flew aerial reconnaissance missions during the 1950s and reached the rank of First Lieutenant.
On leave one day, John had occasion to give a plane ride to Melinda Geldert, whose family lived next to John's parents in Brandon, Vt. They reconnected in Boston, where she was working during her summer break from Middlebury College. They married in July 1961. John spent these early years flying for Eastern Airlines and then the Federal Aviation Administration. The couple's family soon grew with the arrival of their beloved children, Roger, Amy and Tim.
In the early 1970s, the FAA offered John a position in Alaska, and the couple made the big move. John inspected radar installations throughout the state. A tall man with a long stride, John spent his free time walking or participating in distance events like Seward's Midnight Sun Run. He hiked Kauai's rugged and challenging Napali Coast twice. He made annual drives from Alaska to Death Valley, where he flew tow planes for a glider company and took glider rides for fun. After he stopped flying, he turned to spending hours on a flight simulator.
John and Melinda shared a love of rescue dogs, especially greyhounds, and took in many. Their circle of friends drew from across Melinda's many interests, from teaching English as a second language, to badminton, to choral singing. She passed away in January 2023. They were married 61 years.
John's quiet sense of humor, his appreciation of the absurd and a certain twinkle in his eye were ever-present. He was kind, inquisitive and thoughtful with everyone he met, including his caregivers at the end of his life.
John is survived by daughter, Amy Nicholson; son, Tim (Anna) Nicholson; grandchildren, Sydney Linder and Corvin Nicholson; Sydney's mother, Paige; and great-grandson, Liam Linder. John was predeceased by his wife, Melinda; son, Roger; and sister, Harriet. A private remembrance will be held sometime later in 2025.
