NICKLAS, Richard Timothy (Dick, Nick,
Commander and Captain)
Richard Timothy (Nick) went to our heavenly
Father on October 28, 2023 at the age of 90. No one was more surprised to reach
the 90-year-old milestone back in January than Captain Nicklas and he sure did
love to tell anyone that he did so.
The cards, gifts, phone calls and visits that he received from the many
friends who spanned his lifetime were a tribute to him and his legacy. Nick was
born at the Brooklyn Jewish Hospital in Brooklyn, NY on January 9, 1933 to Charles
and Mary (Bowes) Nicklas. He graduated in 1950 from Chaminade High School, a private Catholic school on
Long Island and
then attended Niagara University, majoring in Accounting, before his acceptance
to the United States NavyÕs Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, Florida.
Nick is survived by his beloved wife (a term he
used often) Marilyn Ann (Squires) Nicklas, daughter Mary Ellen (Bee) Winn of
Boxford, Massachusetts; daughter and son-in-law Patricia Jean (Trish) Landgren
and Mark A. Landgren also of Boxford,Massachusetts, son-in-law David S. Warne
of Stamford, Connecticut, grandchildren Charlotte Warne, Emily Winn, Anna
Landgren, Susanna Warne, Stanley Winn, Anders Landgren, Olivia Winn and
Elizabeth Landgren. He is predeceased by his beautiful daughter, Grace Ann
Warne, who died on August 12, 2023.
Captain Nicklas started his flying career in
Pensacola in 1953 as part of Naval flight class 6531. He often recounted
stories of exciting tours in faraway places, to include his bachelor housing in
Panama accompanied by his pet monkey, George, and the infamous ocelot, Ricardo.
But his single days were numbered once he laid eyes on a certain beautiful,
smart and poised teacher who arrived at Tachikawa Air Force Base in October
1962. Six weeks later, they were married. With
a new wife and the dream of starting a family, Nick moved back to the States
where he began his career as a commercial airline pilot. In 1964, Grace Ann was born, as was the
CaptainÕs 34 year career with his second beloved, Trans World Airlines.
Nick absolutely loved the life he lived which spanned
across Ozone Park, Quandary Hall, Chaminade High School, Panama, Toms River,
Japan, Kennedy Airport, Islip, and over the past 30 years, the Landings in
South West, Florida and Chebeague Island, Maine. His life included flying, growing champion tomatoes, reading,
completing NYT crossword puzzles in pencil, sailing the Great South Bay, playing
tennis, and performing service work. But his most precious moments had to be
the time he spent with family, most especially with his eight grandchildren.
A man of
extreme faith in God, Captain Nicklas has reached his final landing place, for
which there will be a celebration of life on Chebeague Island, Maine in the
late summer of 2024. Donations to Chebeague Island Library, 247 South Road,
Chebeague Island, Maine 04017.
