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Cora Lee quietly passed away at home, surrounded by her loving family, on June 29th, 2025. She was born on September 7th, 1926, to Joe and Ruth Hughes in Redland, Oklahoma. After spending the first 17 years of her life living and working on the family farm in Redland with her parents and six siblings, she bravely boarded a bus for three-day journey to San Francisco, California, to find work. Upon arriving in San Francisco, she was trained and immediately hired as a welder for Bethlehem Steel, which built and repaired warships. During that long ride, she met the love of her life, Kenneth Nichols, a young Army recruit. They later married and became parents of two daughters, Janice and Judy. After the war, they settled in Redland, where she lived until Kenneth’s passing in 1983. During that time, she began her career working with children with special needs in Haworth and Denison, Oklahoma.
After the death of her husband and at the urging of her children, she sold her property and began traveling and relocating with them to various locations as they worked with the churches of Christ. Cora eagerly participated in mission trips to Mexico, Colorado, Texas and Arkansas. She expanded her career during this time by becoming a paraprofessional, continuing her work with children in Victoria and Irving, Texas; Healdton, Oklahoma; and finally, Collinsville, Oklahoma, where she retired from the school district in her 80’s.
Following her retirement from the Collinsville School District, she became a vital volunteer in the Collinsville Church of Christ food room, where she had worshiped since 1998. Her love and compassion for those in need have been passed down to her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She is survived by her daughters, Janice Harris and son-in-law Carl Harris and Judy Riordan; grandchildren, Shelly Lawrence and spouse Jeff, Patty Dobbs and spouse David, Jason Harris and spouse Michelle, Kelly Barr, Megan Nespoli and spouse Nathan and Sarah Norell and spouse Alex; fourteen great-grandchildren and three-great-great-grandchildren. She leaves behind numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and a multitude of close friends.
She was preceded in death by her husbands, Kenneth Nichols and G. W. McAdoo; her parents, Joe and Ruth Hughes and siblings, Robert Hughes, Raymond Hughes, Marvin Hughes, Lorene Pollard, Lois Mills and Eleece Pyle.
A memorial service is scheduled for August 23rd, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. at the Redland Church of Christ in Redland, Oklahoma where she was baptized at an early age.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers or gifts, a donation can be made to the Collinsville Church of Christ food room in Collinsville, Oklahoma.
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