Halfway Aug. 30, 1962 — Nov. 10, 2024 Jon Marshall Nichols was born Aug.
30, 1962, in Astoria, to Joe and Jacquie Nichols, the second of two children. He was taken from us way too soon on Nov. 10 on a mountainside in Halfway.
Jon spent his childhood growing up and attending school in Warrenton, graduating from high school in 1980, but not before becoming a champion pole vaulter. Jon bought his grandmother’s house on Alder Creek, and built that small house up into a much larger home with a mechanics shop. In 2020, he moved to Halfway, and created PicNic Ranch, which is a beautiful work in progress.
He learned a fondness for hunting and fishing at a young age by going on the annual Eastern Oregon hunts with his parents, along with the group of people from Warrenton, before he could even walk (actually he was 6 weeks old). He added trapping into the mix, spending many nights trudging through the swamps with his cousin, Dean Foster, and friends. Jon had a few different jobs in his adulthood, most recently at Pine Valley Ranch, where he spent the fall season as a big game hunting guide, often finishing with a cast and blast, a favorite of his clients.
Prior to that, he worked mostly as a mechanical engineer at Pacific Fabrication and Pacific Seafood. His real passion was fabricating aluminum boats with his exceptional welding skills. Over the years, he made over 70 custom boats.
He spent the last two years building and outfitting Finn-Addict, his 31-foot aluminum masterpiece. .