Douglas Theodore Nichols of Ft. Myers, Fla. and Provincetown died at the Gulf Coast Medical Center in Ft. Myers on April 21, 2023 after an intense, brief fight against cancer. He was 70.
The son of the late Theodore and Barbara (Wagner) Nichols, Doug was born on March 29,1953 in Rockville Center, N.Y.
As a boy, Doug spent many family vacations at Somerset Lake and Lake George, N.Y., creating great memories fishing and water skiing.
The family moved to Conway, N.H. in 1967, where Doug attended Kennett High School. He was senior class president and ran crosscountry, setting the high school record. He graduated in 1971.
Despite being accepted at several colleges, Doug decided the college of hard knocks was more suitable, so he became a painter and sheetrocker with Buddy Carrier.
Doug loved to travel, taking three memorable cross-country trips, which, his family remembers, were potential tabloid material. He also played in an adult softball league, pitching for many seasons for a team called Slick’s, known for its gang of colorful characters.
For a time, Doug owned and operated the Mountain Valley Court Club, a racquetball club in North Conway.
After working as a printer for the Reporter Press and Walker Pond Press, Doug returned to drywall, paint, and wallpaper, starting his own business. According to his brother-in-law, Tim McNulty, Doug “was like an artist with wallpaper. His customers loved him. He picked up quite a following.”
Doug’s brother Steve agreed. “He was the most incredible interior painter,” Steve said. “He never had to tape an edge in his life!”
His talent and work ethic brought him business painting and papering hotel rooms in New Hampshire and working in homes on the Outer Cape beginning in the 1990s.
Doug was dedicated to his sons, Kevin and Kirby, whom he took camping and fishing and coached in Little League, wrestling, basketball, and track. He taught them the nuances and etiquette of golf.
As a longtime member of the Provincetown Lions Club, where, McNulty said, “He rarely missed a meeting in more than 15 years,” Doug chaired and organized the club’s Golf Tournament at the Chequessett Country Club and founded the club’s Saturday Morning Golf League.
Doug was an exceptional golfer. He won two championships in one year, one at Chequessett and the other at the Seven Lakes Retirement Community in Fort Myers. He had two holes-in-one over his long golfing career.
He loved living at Seven Lakes, which he thought of as paradise. His family says everyone who knew Doug appreciated how he lived life to the fullest and his love for family, who meant everything to him.
He is survived by his wife, Julie, of Provincetown and Ft. Meyers; sons Kevin of Orleans and Kirby of Raleigh, N.C.; stepson Kelley Jon; siblings Steve and wife Sandee, Deb and husband Marc, and Jeff and wife Beth; mother-in-law Joy and partner Sue of North Ft. Myers and Provincetown; brothers-in-law Tim and wife Ana of Truro, Shawn and wife Laura of Truro, and Johnny of Boston; many nieces, nephews, and cousins; ex-wife Karen; and many other friends and golf buddies.
A celebration of Doug’s life will be held on June 15 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Harbor Hotel, 698 Commercial St., Provincetown. Doug would prefer casual attire.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Provincetown Lions Club.
