Nikkel, Carroll Lee - 1946-2023

EINWALTER, KUENNEN, MCCARTY, MENNINGA, MICK, MOST, NIKKEL, REICKS, SCHNEBERGER SCOTT, VANDER HART

Posted By: Diana Wagner
Date: 4/25/2024 at 14:37:52

Carroll Lee Nikkel, 77, of Ames, passed away peace-fully at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines on the evening of Dec. 25, 2023. When God called him home, he was surrounded by family and listening to “How Great Thou Art.” Visitations were held 4-7 p.m. Dec. 29 and 10-10:45 a.m. Dec. 30 just prior to the funeral at Trinity Christian Reformed Church, Ames. Burial was in Woodland Cemetery, Iowa Center. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Carroll’s name may be directed to Trinity Christian Reformed Church or World Renew.
Carroll was born Sept. 28, 1946, in Newton. He was the first born of six children to Dewey and Betty Nikkel. All through childhood, the family lived on farms around the town of Sully. He graduated from Lynnville-Sully High School.
June 7, 1968, he married Norma J. Vander Hart of Pella. They moved to Newton where they had their first daughter Kerry. In 1970, they settled in the Ames area. While living south of Ames, they had three more children, Sherri, Greg, and Mindy. In 1999, they moved just north of Maxwell.
After graduating high school, he started off in the electrical business, first working with Meisner Electric in Newton. After moving to Ames, he started working with Sweeney, Manning, & Seivert. In 1985, Carroll and some good friends started Nikkel & Associates. Starting off with only 15 employees, they grew the business into one of the largest electrical contracting companies in Iowa. Carroll enjoyed his work and took great pride in it. He served as president on the board of directors of ABC Iowa, along with other boards. He was a part of a national ABC peer group where they shared ideas on best business practices and working with integrity.
He carried over those talents into supporting his church, Trinity Christian Reformed Church in Ames. The church became a second family, where he was an active member until his last days. He taught Sunday school, was an elder, was a pivotal part of all three remodels, and raised his children to believe and live a godly life. He very much enjoyed using his gifts in construction to work with World Renew, often rebuilding houses down south or just helping someone in need. His volunteer work included building wells in Nigeria.
Carroll and Norma had four children, nine grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. In 2005, God called Norma home. On Valentine’s Day in 2014, he married Jennifer Reicks of West Des Moines. Carroll welcomed Jennifer’s three children, spouses, and 10 grandchildren to the union. They very much enjoyed traveling and spending time with family. In his lifetime, he was blessed to be able to travel all over the world. As Carroll’s health began to deteriorate, they moved to Pleasant Hill. Jennifer took amazing care of him, always pushing for the best healthcare.
Win or lose, Carroll was a huge Iowa State Cyclones fan. He had season football tickets for many years. He loved taking friends and family to games with him. He very much enjoyed fishing with family, woodworking, playing cards with friends, doing puzzles, and watching Nascar. He loved antique tractors and cars. You could put a smile on his face if you brought him just about any pie or apple dessert. A perfect breakfast included biscuits and gravy, and bacon. His family has fond memories of him cooking the best egg sandwiches and rice pudding on Sunday nights.
He is survived by his wife Jennifer of Pleasant Hill; four children: Kerry J. (Larry) Scott of Chapman, KS, Sherri L. Nikkel of Slater, Greg J. (Connie) Nikkel of Ames, and Mindy S. Nikkel of Slater; three stepchildren: Joel (Sarah) Reicks of Dubuque, Josh (Brielle) Reicks of Maquoketa, Jennessa (Eric) Einwalter of Solon; nine grandchildren; 10 stepgrand-children; six great-grandchildren; four siblings: Robert (Rosemary) Nikkel of Sully, Linda (Daryl) Menninga of Sully, Doug Nikkel of Newton, Diana Mick of Kellogg; siblings-in-law: Dan Vander Hart, Val Nikkel, Fran Vander Hart, Louis Kuennen, Rosemary (Carl) Most, Sam (Theresa) Kuennen, Dan (Kathy) Kuennen, Diane (John) McCarty, and Marie (Dean) Schneberger.
He was preceded in death by his wife Norma, his parents, and his brother Michael.
Source: Hometown Press (Sully, IA); January 3, 2024