John W Nickel, the son of William T and Maria (Friesen) Nickel was born on August 10, 1921 in Carson Township, Cottonwood County, MN. He received his education at a country school near his home and the Mountain Lake High School. John was baptized upon confession of his faith at the Bergfelder Mennonite Church on June 5, 1938, and on January 13, 1946 he transferred his membership to the Bethel Mennonite Church. On September 6, 1945 John was united in marriage to Edna Marie Schroeder at the Bethel Mennonite Church. They made their home and farmed together on the Nickel family farm until moving into their new home in Mountain Lake in 1984. John continued to farm until his retirement in 1992, but he never gave up helping on the farm and keeping up with the latest technology and techniques. He was a steward of all he had sharing his talents with his neighbors by serving on the boards of the Federal Land Bank, the Delft Elevator, and Mennonite Property Aid Association, and working with his neighbors to construct and maintain two drainage ditches in his neighborhood. He served his Lord by being active on several church boards and supporting many projects in both his church and other ministries with both his time and finances. John began farming with horses, was one of the first in the neighborhood to own a self propelled combine and corn dryer, built one of the first modern style confinement hog barns in the state, and saw his family homestead become a Century Farm. He enjoyed fishing, sports of all kinds, bus tours, visiting family, helping his family in any way, and participating in events with his children and grandchildren. John died on Thursday, May 29, 2008, at the Good Samaritan Village in Mountain Lake.

John is survived by his wife, Edna Nickel of Mountain Lake; 3 children, Dorothy (Richard) Friesen of Newton, KS, Daryl Nickel of Overbrook, KS, and Audrey (Michael) Bjerum of Mountain Lake; 4 grandchildren, Melissa Friesen of Bluffton, OH, Joanna (Steve) Parks of Wichita, KS, John (Joanna) Bjerum of Newton, and Anne Bjerum of Ames, IA; 2 great grandchildren, Lydia and Samuel Parks of Wichita; a brother, David W Nickel of Windom, MN; a sister-in-law, Sara Nickel of Mountain Lake; many other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents; 6 brothers, William, Peter, Theodore, Theodore, Jacob and Abram; and 4 sisters, Anna, Marie, Elizabeth and Katherine.