"He liked people and people liked him," said his wife Christine, "but most of all he loved his children."

Mr. Nichols learned to play tennis after he retired more than a decade ago. He was a member of a YMCA tennis club and he competed in the Cincinnati Senior Olympics. He also loved to play bridge.

"He was very competitive, he was always involved in sports," his wife said. "He loved to compete."

Born in Michigan and raised in Bradford, Mass., Mr. Nichols attended the Governor Dummer Academy.

Mr. Nichols attended Cornell University, where he played football and baseball, and graduated from the U.S. Marine Corps Officer Training Program in 1943. After serving in World War II, he graduated from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts in 1947, earning a degree in mechanical and aeronautical engineering.

He married Christine Ryan of Connecticut in 1948.

After being called to serve in the Korean War in 1950, Mr. Nichols went to work for General Electric in Philadelphia as an engineer in 1952, working on the Polaris missile program. He accepted a transfer to Cincinnati in 1969 and was hired by Magna Engineering in 1970 as a sales representative, retiring in 1991.

In addition to his wife, survivors include his daughters, Christine and Sharon; sons, Mark, Frank, Scott, Guy, John and Robert; and nine grandchildren.

Services have been held.

Memorials: Kenwood Terrace Care Center, 7450 Keller Road, Cincinnati, OH 45243.

E-mail dharper@enquirer.com