Kevin L. Nickels

After a 3 year courageous fight, our brave warrior Kevin Nickels passed away. Kevin Leroy Nickels was born on October 2, 1953, in Rockford Illinois. He died in St. Petersburg, Florida on September 20, 2024, from Metastatic Melanoma, complicated by Guillian-Barre disease. He died the way he lived, worked, and loved. He was intense, driven, and resilient with a soft spot, especially for his grandchildren: Lydia, Liam, Audrey, Ren, and Zoey.

Kevin was a fusion of two cultures: the Midwest and California. When he was ten his parents, Herman (Nick) and Carolyn Nickels (both deceased) moved him and his sister to California. His values were midwestern and his entrepreneurial spirit was Silicon Valley. Kevin attended Cal Poly and graduated with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. He was proud to have been a member of Phi Kappa Psi.

Kevin chose a career that was technical and purposeful; Medical Devices. His career spanned more than thirty years. He worked as R&D Director for Cordis Dow in Colorado. He moved to Minnesota to be VP of Operations for SCIMED. He took a detour into the aerospace industry and worked as GM for Rosemount Aerospace. But his passion was Medical Devices and lifesaving technologies. Kevin served as CEO and President of KINESIS Medical, CELLERATION, Advanced Vein Therapy, Rubigo Therapeutics, and CytoPherx. He was COO at Preventice. He often said, "Resilience is the most important attribute for a startup CEO."

Toward the end of his career with a suitcase full of experience, Kevin took on a legacy position at the University of Minnesota, Office of Technology Commercialization. It was a highlight.

PERSONAL

Kevin married Cheryl Lynn Sherburne. They had three girls, Alison, Christina, and Jenny (deceased). Cheryl died in Minnesota at 37 from lung cancer. She is buried in California where they first met.

Kevin met and married Jacqueline Byrd-Falkman in 1995. She, also widowed, had one child, Mimi. They were introduced by Jacqueline's father (Dr. Richard Byrd) as both her parents (Helen) and the Nickels young family attended St. Martin's by-the-Lake Episcopal Church. They never knew if her father's intention was for them to hit it off, as he passed away. Jacqueline and Kevin were married for 29 years.

Kevin loved his Porsche cars. He drove the last one on the track at Sebring Raceway. He loved to walk the beach, swim in the ocean, and watch the sunset from his balcony. He smoked cigars, loved jazz, drank a good scotch, played golf, and ate hot dogs. He was an artist. He gave the Moffitt Cancer Center doctors and nurses who fought the fight with him an abstract painting of how he envisioned cancer.

Kevin is survived by his wife, Dr Jacqueline Byrd-Nickels and his three daughters: Alison Grise (Adam) and children; Christina Skinner (Paul) and children; Mimi Berlin (Charlie) In addition, Kevin is survived by his sister, Joan Champlin (Wes) and nephews, Clint Champlin (Jamie) and Nick Champlin (Christin) and their children. He is also survived by brother-in-law, Richard Byrd, Jr (Danis) nephew, Brooks Byrd (Kelsie) and their children and niece, MacKenzie Brown (David) and their child.

Thanks to the friends who made our burden a little lighter.

Kevin's funeral will be held at St. Martin's by-the-lake Episcopal Church, Minnetonka Beach, Minnesota on October 11, 2024, at 2:00 pm. A reception will follow.

Instead of sending flowers, please contribute to St. Martin's by-the-lake Foundation at www.stmartinsbythelake.org OR Caring Bridge at www.caringbridge.org