Thomasine "Tome" Nichols

Thomasine Nichols, 77, of Cove, died Jan. 10 at her home. Services will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Calvary Baptist Church in Cove.

Thomasine, or Tome, was born April 21, 1931, to Oscar Alexander and Thelma Alvira (Thomas) Larson in Wasaw, Wis.

Tome had a 30-year career in electronics and retired from Boeing in April 1994. She moved from Seattle to Cove in June 1994. A pinnacle accomplishment of her life work was standing up to union harassment at Boeing by refusing to join the labor union on the grounds of her strongly held Biblical view that there was to be no one interfering in the relationship between an employer and an employee.

Despite reported threats and attempts on her life, she took her battle for the right to work all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and won, setting a precedent. This achievement made national news including the front page of the Seattle Times newspaper in her hometown on April 18, 1988.

Tome spent her youth and her retirement years involved in missions throughout Alaska, South America and Romania.

Tome is survived by a sister, Joanne Sedgwick of Mount Vernon, Wash.; children, Stephen Nichols, and his wife, Laveda Nichols, of Federal Way, Wash., Heidi Henry and her husband, Dan Henry, of Seattle, Keitheen Williams and her husband, Wyatt Williams of La Grande, Thomasine Morris and her husband, Ron Morris, of Cove, and Michael Nichols and his wife, Diana Nichols of Seattle; 23 grandchildren; and 19 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband of 40 years in 1995.

Memorial contributions may be made to Open Doors, P.O. Box 27001, Santa Ana, CA 92799 whose ministry focuses on providing Bibles to Muslims converting to Christianity.

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