Larry David Nicholson

Larry David Nicholson, 78, died peacefully in Dallas this week after a brief illness. Larry was born to Leo David Nicholson and Edna Earl Leach Nicholson in Hebron, Texas on November 9, 1942.

Larry grew up in Plano, the third of four brothers. He graduated from Plano High School in 1961 and received his Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1965. He received a Masters of Divinity in 1969 from the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University.

While at Perkins, Larry met Rebie Fray Comb. They married in 1969 and were blessed with three sons, Michael, Darren and Brian. Larry was ordained as a Deacon in the North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church in 1969, became an Elder in 1971 and ministered to churches throughout North Texas. Larry’s early appointments were to First Methodist Church in Grand Prairie, Richland Hills UMC in Richardson and Chapel Hill United Methodist Church in Farmers Branch. In 1975, Larry was hired by the Wesley Foundation as a Campus Minister at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls.

In 1976, Larry was seriously injured in an automobile accident, suffering a traumatic brain injury. After a prolonged but miraculous recovery, Larry returned to ministry in 1978, and was appointed to Como United Methodist Church and First UMC in Pickton. From there, he served as Pastor at First United Methodist Church in Boyd, Wesley Methodist Church in Wichita Falls, Greenland Hills United Methodist Church in Dallas, and finally at First United Methodist Church in Denton. At FUMC Denton, Larry developed a strong interest in grief support, founding several small groups on grief therapy and working intensely on Stephen Ministries.

Larry retired from the conference in 2000 when he and Rebie moved to Austin, where he labored on the manuscripts of two books, Gracious Uncertainty - Reflections on Grief, Grace, and Gratitude and The Horsie and Duckie of Christian Faith and Other Essays. Larry and Rebie returned to Dallas in May 2021. The greatest role he enjoyed after retirement was being called Grandpa by his beautiful grandkids. They always provided copious amounts of joy, laughter, and special memories. The grandkids adored their Grandpa.

Larry is survived by his wife of 52 years, Rebie (Comb) Nicholson and his sons, Michael (Melissa) of Austin, Darren (Sarah) of Dallas and Brian (Amy) of Waco and his brother, Norman (Trudy) of Plano. He is also survived by his 8 grandchildren: Ellie, Brooke, Reese, Iris, Anna, Mallory, Sam and Grace Nicholson and a large, loving family. He was preceded in death by his parents, Leo and Edna Earl Nicholson and his brothers, Randall and Scotty Nicholson.

A Memorial Service will be held at Northridge Presbyterian Church,  6920 Bob O Link Dr, Dallas, Texas, Thursday, June 24 at 3 PM. The family will receive guests at a reception in Quillin Fellowship Hall following the service.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial gifts in Larry’s honor to:

Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity : https://donate.dallasareahabitat.org/give/289310/#!/donation/checkout,

Wichita Falls Faith Mission : https://faithmissionwf.org/donate/

Interfaith Ministries of Denton : http://www.ifmdenton.org/give