REST IN PEACE..
NICHOLSON, SR., Alexander Macdonald "Nick"Died January 18, 2009. Age 90, after a brief illness. Predeceased by his wife of 53 years, Jane Davis Nicholson; son, John Davis Nicholson. Survived by his son, Alexander M. Nicholson Jr.; daughter-in-law, Laurie Payne Nicholson; granddaughter, Katharine Davis Nicholson. Born October 12, 1918 on a farm in Coxheath near Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. Graduated from Sydney Academy and served in the Canadian Merchant Marine. In World War II, he was a Radio Officer and Navigator in the British Royal Air Force (RAF) Ferry Command, flying American bombers across the Atlantic to Europe and North Africa. His initial port of debarkation was Nashville, where in 1942 he met and in 1943 married the love of his life, the former Beverly Jane Davis. Having spent the duration of the war in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Nick and Jane returned to Nashville in December 1945. In January 1946, Nick went to work for the Good Housekeeping Shop at 8th Avenue and Broadway. By the end of that year, he had purchased the business, which sold and repaired appliances and radios. That company became Nicholson's Hi-Fidelity Center Inc., located at 19th Avenue and Broadway. "Nicholson's Hi-Fi", as it was known, was for over 60 years Nashville's premier provider of high fidelity and stereophonic audio equipment and later of surround-sound and home theater systems. Nick wore many hats in his business: he bought, built, sold, installed, and repaired the equipment, did the accounting, directed the advertising, and managed the employees. Nick's business history is intimately connected with that of Music City USA. In the 1950s, he provided recording equipment and tape for Owen Bradley's original recording studio on Music Row and later for many other studios. He created an automated all-night music playback system for Nashville's first FM radio station by connecting 4 LP record changers in series. He supplied public-address sound systems for many of Nashville's traveling music groups. He later provided Vanderbilt University with audio-video recording equipment and tape for its historical archives of national TV network evening news programs. Nick was a long-time member of the Good Samaritan Sunday School Class at Westminster Presbyterian Church and a founding member of Hillwood Country Club. He was a member of Sertoma, the Sales and Marketing Executives of Nashville, Al Menah Temple (Shriners), and Corinthian Lodge #14 of the Scottish Rite Masons. Nick was a pilot, a skier, a runner, a bridge player, a ham radio operator and teacher, an exquisite dancer, and an unsurpassed tomato gardener. He was a kind, gentle, and generous spirit; a devoted husband, father, and grandfather; a friendly neighbor; and a boss beloved of his employees. For many years most of the audio-video stores in Nashville were owned or staffed by former employees trained by him. He retired from Nicholson's Hi-Fi in February 2007 at age 88 after 61 years, when the business was sold to Audio Video Excellence Inc. Interment will be at Mount Olivet Cemetery on Wednesday, January 21, 2009 at 9 a.m. Following the Interment, visitation with the family will take place from 10 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church, where The Reverend Carson Salyer will conduct a memorial service at 11:30 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Montgomery Bell Academy, 4001 West End Avenue, Nashville, TN 37205; Westminster Presbyterian Church, 3900 West End Avenue, Nashville, TN 37205; or Alive Hospice, 1718 Patterson Street, Nashville, TN 37203. MARSHALL DONNELLY COMBS, (615) 327-1111
Published in The Tennessean on 1/19/2009