Dr. Freddie W. “Nick” Nicholas Sr. was known as a trailblazing educator, stalwart community servant, committed family man and active church member.

Those who knew him best said he was driven to succeed and always sought to help others.

“He was hard-working, had great perseverance and always wanted to do what is right,” his wife, Fay Jordan Nicholas, said.

“He never met a person who needed something who he wouldn’t seek to help,” she added.

Dr. Nicholas carved out a long list of remarkable achievements during his storied life. As president of John Tyler Community College in Chester from 1979 through 1990, Dr. Nicholas was the first African-American president in the Virginia Community College System.

“He was proud of that,” his wife said. “He was very conscious about working to help black people move forward and being involved in civil rights.”

After a brief retirement, he came back to serve as the interim chancellor of Virginia’s community college system from 1990 through 1991 before he fully retired.

Dr. Nicholas also served as the Matoaca District representative on the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors from October 1994 through December 1995, filling the seat held by Whaley Colbert, who had died.

And he was one of the first African-Americans to serve on the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors from 1990 through 1994. He was appointed by then-Gov. L. Douglas Wilder.

Dr. Nicholas is being remembered following his death Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, at his home in Ettrick. He was 89.

Family and friends will celebrate his life during services 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, at Zion Baptist Church, 225 Byrne St. in Petersburg. Interment will follow at Bermuda Memorial Cemetery, 1900 Bermuda Hundred Road in Chester. 

Dr. Nicholas was born Dec. 22, 1926, in Hanover County. After obtaining his high school diploma from Hanover County Training School in 1944, he attended Virginia State University. His education was interrupted when he served in the Army during World II from 1945 through 1946.

Dr. Nicholas then returned to Virginia State to earn a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education in 1951.

While at VSU, he met his future bride, Frances Fay Jordan, whom he married on April 9, 1952.

He then earned a master’s degree in agricultural education from VSU in 1965 and later earned his doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education in 1973. He was the first African-American to graduate from the doctoral program, his family said.

Dr. Nicholas’ career in education began in the classroom as a vocational agriculture teacher in Culpeper and moved to the realm of higher education in 1966, when he became an assistant professor and teacher trainer at VSU.

After earning his Ph.D., Dr. Nicholas embarked on an amazing journey as an educational leader. He first served as dean at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond from 1972 through 1974, then provost from 1974 through 1978 and then as executive vice president at VSU from 1978 through 1979.

Dr. Nicholas received numerous commendations, awards and honors for distinguished service and leadership from various civic, educational, governmental and religious organizations and institutions. He also served on numerous boards, commissions and associations and was a member of several social and civic organizations, including his beloved Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. He also was a member of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Phi Delta Kappa, Grand United Order of Oddfellows and the Masonic Lodge of Culpeper.

He was active at Zion Baptist, where he served on the Finance Board and the Men’s Choir.

Additionally, he was a lifetime member of the NAACP, served on the Futures Committee of Chesterfield County and belonged to the Petersburg Rotary Club, the board of directors of the Richmond Urban League, the board of directors of Southside Regional Medical Center, the Civic and Progressive Action Association of the Matoaca District and the Chesterfield Historical Society.

In addition to his wife, Dr. Nicholas is survived by his son, Freddie Warren Nicholas of Chester; two daughters, Pamela Yvette Nicholas-Stokes of Chesterfield County and Lisa Melanie Nicholas of Charlotte, N.C.; two brothers, Henry R. Nicholas and John R. Nicholas, both of Hanover County; eight grandchildren; and numerous other family and friends.