Longtime Charleston
broadcaster Keith Nichols passed away on Sunday, January 27, 2008 after
losing a battle with cancer.
While most Charlestonians remember Keith for
the two decades he was on the air at WCSC-TV, he worked at WTMA twice: in
the late '60s as a newsman, and 1973-1975 as a DJ and
production director.
We are fortunate to have several of Keith's WTMA
airchecks online, as well as
a two-part audio interview
feature recorded in 2004.
Keith Nichols
dies at 57
The Post and Courier
Monday, January 28, 2008
Keith Nichols, the
last original staff member of Channel 5 WCSC-TV's morning news show,
died early Sunday after a three-year battle with lymphoma, the
station said Sunday. He was 57.
Nichols began working for Channel 5 as the morning weatherman during
1985. He left the station in October 2005 after being diagnosed with
bone-marrow leukemia.
Although Nichols' chemotherapy treatment was successful initially,
Nichols decided it was time to move on from Channel 5. "I'm tired,"
he told The Post and Courier in 2005. "I want to do something else."
Bill Walsh, WCSC chief meteorologist, said that Nichols' cancer had
returned.
Nichols began his career in 1964 as a radio broadcaster in Newberry.
At WCSC, Nichols also was responsible for the feature, "You Gotta
Eat," which showcased local restaurants. Walsh said Nichols had been
doing computer consulting work since leaving Channel 5.
Nichols is survived by his wife, Beth Nichols. Stuhr's West Ashley
Chapel of Charleston is in charge of the private arrangements.
WCSC-TV aired this tribute piece
shortly after Keith's death
NICHOLS, Keith
Keith Lewis Nichols, age 57, died peacefully in his sleep, Sunday,
January 27, at Roper Hospital. The family will receive friends this
Wednesday afternoon, January 30, 2008 from 5 until 7 o'clock at J.
HENRY STUHR, INC., WEST ASHLEY CHAPEL, 3360 Glenn McConnell Pkwy.,
Charleston, SC 29414. Relatives and friends are invited to attend 11
a.m. Graveside Services on Thursday, January 31, in Charleston at
Live Oak Memorial Gardens (Hwy. 61) and a Memorial Service at 3 p.m.
at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer. He is survived by his wife,
Elizabeth (Beth) Roddey Nichols, his daughter, Kristen Nichols Voyer
(Bryon), and his parents Lewis and Norma Nichols of Mt. Pleasant.
Nichols was born in Newberry, SC, where he earned his Eagle Scout
badge in 1965. He graduated from Newberry High School in 1968 and
earned degrees in Journalism from the University of South Carolina
in 1972 and in Meteorology from Mississippi State in 1994. His
broadcasting career began at WKDK in Newberry during his high school
years. He worked as an announcer at WNOK AM and WUSC AM in Columbia
while in college. Upon graduation, he joined the staff of WTMA in
Charleston and eventually became an anchor, producer and Assistant
News Director at WCIV. Nichols moved to Omaha, NE, in 1979, and
served as News Director of KMTV. He returned to Charleston in 1985
and was Morning Weather anchor at WCSC-TV, where his featured series
You Gotta Eat was popular throughout the Low Country. A long-time
supporter of Gamecock athletics, Nichols spent some of his happiest
moments in Williams Brice Stadium and on the campus of his beloved
Carolina. Nichols' favorite charities were March of Dimes and
Muscular Dystrophy Association. He hosted the MDA Telethon for a
number of years. He had also served on the Church Council of
Lutheran Church of the Redeemer and was active in the South Carolina
Via de Cristo. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Lutheran
Church of the Redeemer, 714 Riverdale Drive, Charleston, SC 29407;
South Carolina Via de Cristo, 1000 Johnny Dodds Boulevard, Suite
103-1001, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464; and the Leukemia & Lymphoma
Society, 300 West Coleman Boulevard, Suite 206, Mt. Pleasant, SC
29464.
