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On Wednesday, November 28, 1990 the Renewal Fellowship lost a friend and keen supporter when Mr. E.W. “Nick” Nicolle passed away in Toronto after a brief illness.
Nick was a founding member of the board of the Renewal Fellowship, having served as vice-chairman and then from 1987 to 1988 as chairman. He brought his considerable gifts in the financial area to bear on the administrative work of the Fellowship and his positive and visionary thinking — combined with his wise counsel — will be missed.
I first met Nick Nicolle when our family joined St. Andrew’s Church, Islington in 1965. I knew him then as one of the elders of the church, as the father of my friend Gordon, and as my Sunday School teacher; later as someone who took a keen interest in my call to Christian ministry; and latterly as a colleague in the ministry of the Renewal Fellowship. Whether it was in a session meeting, a Sunday School Class, a board meeting, or out on the golf course Nick was a man committed to Jesus Christ.
Nick was born on October 8, 1919 in Murray River, P.E.I. After finishing school he joined the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and worked with them for forty-four years until his retirement. In 1954 he moved to Ontario and in 1958 he joined St. Andrew’s Church, Islington, becoming an elder in 1961.
Only the Lord knows the numbers of children and young people who came to know about the Lord Jesus Christ in Nick’s Sunday School classes. And only the Lord knows how wonderfully Nick was used to encourage students preparing for Christian ministry and missionaries through his work as treasurer of the Mission Fund at St. Andrew’s.
After retiring from the bank Nick was active in the work of Bible distribution through the ministry of the Gideons. He also served in the Presbytery of West Toronto, the Synod of Toronto-Kingston, and as a commissioner to the General Assembly. And out of his commitment to Jesus Christ came a concern for our denomination and its renewal which led him to be involved in the ministry of the Renewal Fellowship.
Nick was a banker and financial man — and while we appreciated his abilities in these areas immensely, I don’t think that is how most of us primarily thought of him. He was not ultimately concerned with financial figures and with bottom lines but with the people and the ministries they represented. The financial concerns were just a means to an end — that end being the advancement of the mission of the church and the cause of Christ.
We are grateful to God for the life of this faithful layman who was committed to helping men and women, young people and children come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ and help them grow in him. We are grateful for the quiet and faithful witness of this servant on whom one could always count. And we are grateful that he was who he was not because he thought somehow he had to earn God’s favour — but simply because he wanted to live his life in joyful obedience and response to the grace of God.
Nick is survived by his wife Lois, his children Gordon and Marie, and five grandchildren. A funeral service was conducted by Dr. John Allison on Saturday, December 1, 1990 at St. Andrew’s Church, Islington. While we mourn the loss of a dear Christian friend we rej oice that he has gone to be with his Lord. To God be the glory. Amen.
Donations in memory of Nick Nicolle can be made to the Renewal Fellowship.