Jean Carol (Jones) Nichols was born the 4th of October, 1935, to Ernest Jones and Rhoda (Wood) Jones, in a small house on the corner of Rohnerville Road and Trinity Street, in what is now Fortuna. Also born in Rohnerville was her grandmother Nellie (Baird) Jones and her father Ernest C. Jones.

Jean was proud of her heritage, being a descendant of the Pioneer Wood family in Garberville. Her great-grandfather, James I. Wood, was the first European settler to establish a residence in the Garberville-Harris area. She will be laid to rest in the Pioneer Cemetery on Kenmar Road in Fortuna, only blocks away from where she was born.

Most people know Jean from church. She was an interesting biblical speaker with 90 years of life experience. She conducted speaking engagements at the Fortuna Nazarene, Presbyterian, and Assembly of God churches as well as ministering at camp meetings right up until her passing. She was a spiritual mentor to women and faithfully attended several denomination’s women’s Bible studies. Jean went to Malawi Africa with her husband James in 1988 to teach the Malawi people how to build schools and churches. After James passed away in 1997 she went back to Malawi to run a guest house for missionaries. She spent 25 or more years in the mission fields of Malawi and still has friends there. She liked to attend a different church every Sunday, but her home church was the Rohnerville Assembly of God. 

Jean is survived by her sister Joanne Jones; her daughter Neleen Nichols; and her son James Nichols; seven grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and two great-great grandchildren.

Preceding her in death was her husband of 44 years, James in 1997; her father Ernest in 1996; her mother Rhoda in 2010; and, her youngest daughter Brenda in 2012.

A memorial service will be held at the Rohnerville Assembly of God Church on October 10, 2026 at 2 p.m. There will be a potluck fellowship following the service.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Jean Nichols’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.