Dr. Harry E. Nicholson (1931-2021)
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Jun. 25—Dr. Harry E. Nicholson, a longtime area physician who loved spending time with friends and volunteering his services as a physician, died June 17. He was 90.
Dr. Nicholson was living at Elizabeth Scott Community, an assisted-living facility in Maumee, at the time of his death, according to his wife, Nancy Nicholson. He was diagnosed with dementia and recently had surgery for a broken hip, after which his health took a downturn, she said.
He was always kind, Ms. Nicholson said, and liked to joke around.
"He loved to make people laugh," she said.
Born on Jan. 24, 1931, in Columbus to Helen and Hank Nicholson, Dr. Nicholson graduated from Columbus South High School and attended the University of Toledo on a basketball scholarship.
That's where they met, Ms. Nicholson said. They were eating at the same time and ended up having to sit next to each other because of space constraints.
While at school, the 6-foot, 5-inch Dr. Nicholson used to tell his future wife, who was 5 feet, 2 inches tall, to walk along the curb while he walked on the street, Ms. Nicholson recounted, laughing.
Dr. Nicholson graduated from UT in 1953 with a degree in education and, persuaded by Ms. Nicholson's father, took pre-med courses and was applying to medical schools when he was drafted into the Army. The couple married during his time in the military.
"There was never an argument," she said about their relationship. "He never got mad at me. If he did, I never knew it."
After his Army discharge, the couple went on vacation in South Dakota and stopped by the University of South Dakota Medical School. Dr. Nicholson had been applying to medical schools, she said, and hadn't heard back from any, so he stopped to solicit tips on how to move the process forward.
Instead, he was admitted on the spot and told to return the next day. Ms. Nicholson left him in South Dakota, she said, with five days of clothes, and he bunked with her brother while she returned home and gave two weeks' notice at her job.
"We loved it," she said about South Dakota. "We really did."
Dr. Nicholson finished his medical degree in Cincinnati, and the couple had a son and moved back to Toledo. As a father, Dr. Nicholson was close with their son, who died in 2008, Ms. Nicholson said. The two would go fossil-hunting together.
As a doctor, Dr. Nicholson often volunteered his services on trips and to organizations. He traveled with the UT baseball team as its team physician, did the same for local Boy Scouts, and volunteered as a ship's physician for Lindblad Expeditions, an adventure cruise ship company.
He loved spending time with friends, she said. In 2018, he moved into the Elizabeth Scott Community and was well taken care of, she said.
Survivors include his wife of 67 years, Nancy Nicholson; and sister, Barbara Eberts, of Columbus.
Per Dr. Nicholson's wishes, there will be no visitation or services. The family suggests tributes to University of Toledo Athletics, 2801 W. Bancroft St. MS302; St. Luke's Hospital Foundation, 5901 Monclova Rd., Maumee; or Nature's Nursery, P.O. Box 2395, Whitehouse.
First Published June 25, 2021, 12:00am