Henry Earl Nicholes, Jr.

Henry Earl Nicholes, Jr. passed away peacefully at his home on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. He was 87 years old.

Henry was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi on May 25, 1931. He was preceded in death by his parents, Henry Earl Nicholes, Sr. and Mary Lee Sprager (Parker); three sisters, Ada Mae Nicholes-Davis, Johnella Parker-Ferreans, Mary Lottie Parker-Rowell and two sons, Tom Nicholes and Leslie Nicholes.

In 1994 Henry married Dessie Mae Gilbert. Together they attended Pilgrim Baptist Church in South Bend.

Henry, with only a middle school education left his hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi in pursuit of better employment “up north”. He was variously employed with Rockwell, Studebaker and Bendix, Inc. from which he retired after 20 years of service.

Henry was also one of the first Black owners of a full-service gas station in South Bend which was called Nicholes Standards.

Surviving him are his wife, Dessie Nicholes, two daughters from a previous marriage, Penny Nicholes-Woods of South Bend, Wendy Nicholes-Lockett of Harker Heights, TX and a son, Henry Earl Nicholes, lll. Stepdaughters Lois Muhammad and Jean Anderson of South Bend also survive him along with sisters, Rosie B. Parker-Rowell of St. Louis and Marthe Parker-Sanders of Los Angeles and a host of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, stepchildren, nieces and nephews who will miss him dearly.

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