HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – Bill Nichols of Hidden Valley Lake passed peacefully in his sleep on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2016, at the age of 91.

Born in Ellenboro, West Virginia, Bill lived in Lake County for 30 years.

Bill is survived by his daughter Linda Tunnicliffe, six step-children and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Maria Nichols; brothers, Parley, Everett and Wilber; his mother, Orpha; and father, Wilber Norman Nichols.

A US Coast Guard veteran, Bill started his military career in 1943 aboard the USS Bayfield APA33, being awarded four Bronze Stars for service in World War II.

He served in Normandy at Utah Beach, Southern France, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He was also a Peoples of France Appreciation Medal recipient.

He manned the Trinidad lighthouse for a time. After his military service, he decommissioned military buses for use in the public sector.

An entrepreneur, Bill ran his own businesses, and worked for glass manufacturing plants, the logging industry, Clover Creamery and Kaiser Sand & Gravel.

He retired in 1988 and moved to Hidden Valley Lake where he enjoyed the Fire Sirens and the Car Club, as well as fishing, tending to his awesome garden and spending time with his family.

Graveside services will be held at the Middletown Cemetery on Friday, Feb. 3, beginning at 11 a.m. Military honors will be rendered by the United States Coast Guard and the Lake County Funeral Honors Team.

He will be remembered as a man who loved his family, garden and his country.

Arrangements under the care of Jones & Lewis Clearlake Memorial Chapel. Please share your loving memories of Bill Nichols by signing his online guestbook at www.jonesandlewis.com and www.legacy.com .