Rodney Gene Nickel of Guthrie, Oklahoma passed away on February 10th, 2021 at the age of 77. He was born June 24th, 1944 in St. Louis, Missouri to Mary and Ben Nickel. His father was a skilled machinist who worked on the Wabash Railroad. Rodney graduated from the University of Arkansas with a BSBA degree, and upon graduating worked for Proctor and Gamble.
As a young boy, he was fascinated with water, and did everything the YMCA had to offer including reaching the highest level of Water Safety Instructor where he taught lifesaving and swimming. During the Vietnam War, this led to him serving as an Frogman Army Diver where he went through Officer Candidate School and completed the United State Naval Deep Sea Diving School in Washington D.C..
Upon completing OCS and Diving School, he served in Vietnam as the Officer-in-Charge of a twelve man underwater diving team. He would later be awarded the Bronze Star for his bravery during diving missions. In his humility, he would simply say he was “In the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Rodney’s talents were many: he was an amazing cook, a devoted tomato gardener, a relentless joke teller, and the best dad to his three children. Rodney is survived by his daughter, Amy Cochran, and his two sons, R.J. Nickel and John Nickel.