Nolan Nix

Nolan L. Nix of Denver passed away last Sunday, September 9th, at the age of 90. Born on the kitchen table of a tin roofed shack in Central Texas he grew up the son of cotton sharecroppers Lewis and Beulah Mae Nix and lived along the South Bosque River in MacLennan County. After Pearl Harbor Nolan answered the call to serve his country and enlisted in the Army Air Corps.

In the Corps he was shipped to Boston. From there he traveled for 40 days via Rio de Janeiro to Australia aboard a converted luxury ship, the Queen Mary. Island hopping northward from Australia and New Guinea he served for nearly 3 years and was awarded the Bronze Star for Heroic or Meritorious Achievement. "The Japanese saved me from a life in the cotton fields" he would later muse.

After the war, he was sent to Ft. Logan in Colorado to convalesce from injuries and there met and married his first wife Leila and together raised 5 children.

Dad worked as a reporter for both the Littleton Independent and the Englewood Herald newspapers and was always, at heart, a newspaper man. For many years he was also a regular editorial contributor to the Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post, where many enjoyed his razor wit and his unique ability to dryly expose everyday absurdities and insults to common sense and decency. He briefly had his own column with the Rocky Mountain News called "Nix On That".

Dad was a man of letters but, in addition to his love of writing, he was extremely well read. You could not mention an author of any note with whose works, both major and minor, he was not familiar and in many cases could quote.

Dad was also an avid fly fisherman which indulged his love of the outdoors but would allow him to release fish unharmed. As a lover of nature he was protective of all animals, feeding birds in winter, adopting stray cats and even taking bugs or spiders outside rather than harming them.

Dad's love of literature, art, music and of the outdoors was passed to many of his children and grandchildren.

Eventually he would move on to work as a Public Relations writer for National Jewish Hospital where he met his second wife Sue.

Dad is survived by his sister Llamerle Daub of Missouri, his wife Sue, 4 stepchildren John, Susan, Mark and Peter, 5 children Anna, Ellen, Lana, Nolan and Ken, 19 grandchildren, 24 great grandchildren and his cat Ginger. Dad will be deeply missed by all.

"Home is the rover, his journey's over."

Memorial Services will be held Monday, 10:30 AM at St. Martin's Chapel at St. John's Cathedral in Denver. Interment will follow at 1:30 PM at Fort Logan National Cemetery, staging area B.