Shelbyville widow shares heartbreaking loss of husband Handy Dandy store owner
SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – A Shelbyville widow is recounting the heartbreaking moments that she lost the love of her life in a house fire.
Frank Nichols, 87, was a pillar in the Bedford County community, building his name while working alongside his wife, Alice, at the Handy Dandy market for decades.
“Franklin D. and the D is for nothing but D,” Alice explained.
“Frankie” as she called him, however, sure was something to her.
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“We started dating, I think I was a freshman in high school, and he was a junior,” she said.
Their love is a story that extends 67 years, with much of their time spent working side by side at Handy Dandy.
“We worked in the store for 50 years side-by-side and it was hard working together, but we loved each other so much,” Alice cried.
Much of the couple’s family also worked at the market, seeing firsthand Frank’s work ethic and care for customers.
WATCH: Well-known Shelbyville community member dies in fire
“If Lowe’s didn’t have it, Handy Dandy did. We flocked Christmas trees over Christmas; Frank sold guns, ammunition, and plumbing supplies, fixings, everything; if someone came in and had a problem they couldn’t fix, he would leave the store and go help them fix it,” said Alice’s brother Leonard Sons Jr., who also worked at the market.
Handy Dandy, however, was much more than a shop for the family and the Shelbyville community.
“Back in the mid-60’s and up the deputy sheriffs and the police, they would all gather there and tell stories. It was the hangout and a place where friends could talk,” explained Leonard.
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Now, white ribbons hang outside the market on Madison Street that’s sat empty for more than a decade.
“He was just an icon in this town. The whole county knows Frank,” said Leonard.
Retirement allowed Frank more time to tinker in his garage on his antique cars.
“That’s where he lived at just about. He loved his cars, he’d go out there and rub on them and shine all his tools and stuff,” said Alice.
That’s where Frank was Thursday night when Alice heard a commotion.
“When I opened the door, the smoke just knocked me backwards,” she recalled.
Determined not to leave her love, Alice fought through the thick smoke desperately searching for Frank.
“It was the help of the Lord that I run back in there because I can’t half walk, and I went back again and I was screaming and praying to the Lord and hollering, hollering, “Honey, honey where are you?’ I couldn’t see him,” she cried.
A neighbor ultimately had to carry Alice out.
“I couldn’t get him out. I was praying to the Lord that he wasn’t dead, but I just knew it down in my heart that he was. Everybody asked me what’s wrong, what’s a matter. I said I wanted to go with him; I didn’t want to live without him,” she gasped.
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Alice was hospitalized for smoke inhalation.
“The main thing is the good Lord is what brought me though and it was his time to go, just like everybody says, it just wasn’t my time to go,” she said while assuring she will see Frankie again.
Visitation is being held Monday night, Feb. 19, with graveside services to follow on Tuesday, Feb. 20.
Shelbyville Fire Department officials said the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating the cause of the fire. News 2 has reached out for more information.
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