Family, friends honor John Nicoll

To hear friends, family and former colleagues describe former

Newport-Mesa Unified School District Superintendent John Nicoll, he

almost seems to have been two distinct men.

Nicoll died Sept. 10 at age 83. With a tenure that stretched from

1971 to 1993, he was the district’s longest-serving superintendent.

At a service Saturday at Newport Beach’s Pacific View Memorial

Park, some recalled him as a dignified and driven man, whose first

concern was giving students the best education possible. But they

also remembered his humorous side, his penchant for fishing and

poker, and a mind that enabled him to remember the names, jobs and

even personal problems of many of his hundreds of employees.

Those who knew and worked with Nicoll said he was a demanding boss

with high expectations of his employees.

Some people were put off by his stern demeanor, and right before

he retired, he was castigated by some parents and school employees

after teacher layoffs and an embezzlement scandal involving the

district’s top financial officer.

But many on Saturday remembered Nicoll as a joker, a fun-loving

man who was unflinchingly loyal to his employees in public, though

he’d tell them privately when he thought they’d messed up.

“He was known as being brusque, difficult, aloof -- those were all

wrong,” said Forrest Werner, vice-president of the Newport-Mesa

Schools Foundation and a former school board member. “That was his

front. The real man was intelligent, affable and a team player.”

As a young man, Nicoll loved cars, he was always well-dressed, and

he was known throughout his life for his love of a good card game.

“Outside of education we had a blast,” remembered Norman Loats,

who retired in 1989 after working under Nicoll as deputy

superintendent. “We had what we called a prayer group, and the only

thing we prayed for was a royal flush.”

But what most remembered was his love of education. Even after he

retired from Newport-Mesa, he couldn’t stay away from the field, so

he took a teaching post at National University, and he wrote two

books about being a superintendent and school administrator.

Several people said Nicoll would have a lasting effect on their

lives, and one of those was Ken Hall, who had help from Nicoll in

launching a school consulting company 30 years ago.

Hall noticed the atmosphere Saturday wasn’t like a typical

memorial service.

“This kind of seemed like an education reunion,” he said. “This

room is John’s legacy because John has been the mentor and the

teacher to so many of you.”

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers government and politics. Contact her at

(714) 966-4626 or by e-mail at [email protected].