Clifford (Nick) Nicholas
January 9, 1946 – October 5, 2022
Clifford (Nick) Nicholas passed away on Oct. 5, 2022, at the age of 76 in Seattle, Washington. He received a call, a sort of an offer you can’t refuse, for an appointment from which he will not be returning. This assignment comes with a huge sign-on bonus, his health, which he has not seen in a long time.
If you asked a hundred people who Nick was, they’d all give you a different story. A skier. A cowboy. The service mechanic. An animal lover. The world’s oldest kid. A father. An athlete. A Winter Olympics enthusiast. An outdoorsman.
Nick was none of these things, or perhaps he was all of them. What he was, was legendary. From the time he was young he was constantly involving himself in various interests. It didn’t matter if he was building a barn or iron-manning the Ridge to River Relay in Wenatchee. No matter the occasion, Nick did it with vim and vigor.
It’s no surprise that Nick is known for many things. He was born in Kirkland, Washington on Jan. 9, 1946 to Lloyd and Dorothy Nicholas. He had one older brother, Dan. When Nick was a teenager, his family moved to The Bar 40 Ranch in Moses Lake, Washington where he worked hard on the ranch and finished his education. Nick graduated from Moses Lake High School in 1965. After graduation, Nick joined the National Guard. Along with a 40-year career at Cascade Natural Gas, Nick was very involved with the Moses Lake Parks and Recreation Department where he taught ski maintenance and guided canoe trips. He was a regular on the Moses Lake Ski School bus to Mission Ridge every winter Saturday morning, much to the chagrin of his two growing daughters.
On December 31, 1969, Nick married Robin Thomas with whom he had two daughters, Nickey Lynn and Tomi Dawn. He taught them to snow ski, to select a quality hammer, to love nature and to just be thankful. He took great pride in sharing similar interests with his girls. For Nickey it was week-long hikes in the North Cascades. For Tomi it was their shared enthusiasm for horseback riding through those same mountains and beyond.
He had a lifelong love affair with popcorn, steam engines, threshing bees, antique farm equipment, his homemade chipped tuna on toast, Mission Ridge Ski Resort and the town he called home, Moses Lake.
Nick retired in 2013 and began enjoying his well-earned retirement to the fullest, using his time productively to focus on his many hobbies and projects. Unfortunately, he was injured in a motorcycle accident in June of that year and not able to fully recover from a traumatic brain injury. He spent his remaining years in assisted living in Seattle.
Nick is preceded in death by both his parents Lloyd and Dorothy and his brother, Dan. He is survived by his children Nickey Groff of Moses Lake, Washington and Tomi Nicholas-Huesch of Bothell, Washington, sons-in-law Michael Groff and Daniel Huesch, and grandchildren Hayden Collier and Kelly Huesch. A private memorial service will be held for close family and friends. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Moses Lake Parks & Recreation Department, PO Box 1579, Moses Lake, Washington 98837, an organization Nick felt strongly about.