Martha Louella Felknor Nichols

Martha Louella Felknor Nichols, 88, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Thursday, Nov. 1, at Greenfield Senior Living in Oak Ridge.

Mrs. Nichols was born on Oct. 29, 1924, to Edward M. and Love H. Felknor in Morristown. She spent her early years in the Fountain City area of Knoxville and was a graduate of Knoxville’s Central High School.

She attended the University of Tennessee, where she was a member of Sigma Kappa Sorority and played french horn in the University of Tennessee Marching Band. While at UT, she met her future husband, Hugh Chandler Nichols.

In 1945, they came to Oak Ridge to work in the plants. They married on Sept. 7, 1946, and remained in Oak Ridge for their lifetimes.

Mrs. Nichols was very active in the community, having served as Regent from 1953 to 1954 of the Clinch River Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution; as a member of the committee of the Guild of the Oak Ridge Civic Music Association, which put together the calendar “Oak Ridge, The Way It Was, 1942 – 1992” as a fundraiser for the Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra; and Panhellenic.

She was an avid golfer and won several tournaments at the Oak Ridge Country Club. She also enjoyed swimming at the Oak Ridge Civic Center with the group “Swimmin’ Women.”

Mrs. Nichols had an inherent talent and lifelong love for making music. She taught private piano lessons in her home for many years. She frequently played the organ at various churches in Oak Ridge for weddings and other services. She was an active member of First Presbyterian Church for almost 70 years.

Mrs. Nichols was preceded in death by her husband and her brothers Edward and John Felknor.

Mrs. Nichols is survived by her son Hugh Chandler Nichols Jr. and his wife Jackie of Oak Ridge; daughter, Susan N. Collins and her husband Tom of Jacksonville, Fla.; granddaughters, Jennifer N. Dokos and her husband J.R. of Houston, Texas, and Julie N. Walden and her husband Seth of Nashville; and many nieces and nephews. She recently took great delight in getting to meet her first great-grandson Reid Chandler Dokos. Above all else, Mrs. Nichols reveled in the lives of her granddaughters and left many fond memories for the family to forever cherish.

The family will receive friends on Sunday, Nov. 4, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Martin Funeral Home in Oak Ridge.

Graveside services will be held on Monday, Nov. 5, at 1 p.m. at Shiloh Cemetery in Pigeon Forge. The Rev. Sharon Youngs, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge, will officiate.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in her memory to the First Presbyterian Church Parish Nursing Program, 1051 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge, TN 37830.