[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 14 (Thursday, February 14, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E159-E160]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    IN MEMORY OF DR. PHILIP ARNOLD NICHOLAS OF NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BOB CLEMENT

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 13, 2002

  Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in memory of Dr. Philip Arnold 
Nicholas of Nashville, Tennessee, who departed this life on January 3, 
2002, after an extensive career as a physician and an educator.
  Beloved by all those who knew him, Dr. Nicholas was best known for 
his work at Meharry Medical College, where he established the 
gynecology department and as the founder of Planned Parenthood of 
Nashville.
  He was born May 12, 1914 in Kingston, Jamaica, the son of Phillip 
Harrigan Nicholas, a civil engineer who worked on the Panama Canal, and 
Lillian Burke Nicholas, a caterer who ran her business from their home. 
Nicholas was an enthusiastic student with the dream of becoming a 
physician at a very young age after assisting a friend with an injury 
in elementary school. He received a Jesuit education at St. George's 
College in Kingston and later studied pharmacy at Spanish Town Hospital 
in St. Catherine Parish. He became a pharmacist for the Kingston Public 
Health Hospital, still fostering the dream of becoming a doctor.
  He married Violet Richards in 1940; and in 1945, he came to the 
United States and entered Howard University earning his Bachelor's and 
Master's of Science degrees. In 1950, he began study at Meharry. For 
eight summers during college, graduate school and medical school, he 
worked 19-hour days in

[[Page E160]]

order to provide for his family and earn his education. His hard work 
and dedication paid off, when he graduated from Meharry as a member of 
the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society in 1954. His residency in 
Obstetrics was completed in 1957. Dr. Matthew Walker trained him in the 
surgical department at Meharry. In 1957, he accepted a post-graduate 
program in OB-GYN at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, 
where as one of only two African Americans, his classmates chose him to 
serve as class president for the year long program.
  As a respected physician, Dr. Nicholas returned to Meharry in 1958, 
and his tenure on Meharry's faculty ranged from 1959 to 1984 during 
which time he served as vice chairman of the OB-GYN surgery department 
for more than 23 years and as Dean of Admissions at the School of 
Medicine from 1967 to 1982.
  Meharry honored him many times, eventually establishing two 
scholarships in his name. In 1984, he received the Distinguished 
Alumnus Award for Medicine from the National Alumni Association and in 
1999, the Alumnus of the Year Award. The Meharry singers recognized him 
in 1985 for ``giving dedicated service to improving the academic, 
cultural and social life of students at the college.'' A birthing room 
was named for him at Hubbard Hospital in 1989, and ten years later the 
OB/GYN learning center was named in his honor as well. An icon has been 
erected in his honor at the corner of 21st and Hermosa Avenues on the 
Meharry campus.
  Throughout his career he represented Meharry on a number of 
committees and medical associations, including the American Board of 
Obstetrics and Gynecology, the American Association of Medical 
Colleges, the R. F. Boyd Medical Society, and the committee for special 
education within the Metropolitan Board of Education.
  As founding member of the Planned Parenthood Association of 
Nashville, he served as the first treasurer and later as a member of 
the Board of Directors. Additionally, he was the first vice-president 
of Children and Family Services in Nashville.
  Outside of outstanding educational and healthcare activities, Dr. 
Nicholas contributed to the community as a founding member of St. 
Anselm's Episcopal Church, serving on the Fisk-Meharry Community 
Advisory Council and as a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.
  He counted among his most rewarding contributions to the education of 
many family members and friends. He would often say, ``I did not invest 
in stocks and bonds, I invested in people. The dividends have been 
grand!''
  Left to cherish his precious memories are his devoted wife of sixty-
one years, Violet May Nicholas; his loving daughters, Gertrude Nicholas 
Brooks of Morganfield, KY and Dr. Allison Nicholas Metz of San 
Francisco, CA; granddaughter, Dr. Marilyn Nicole Metz of Loma Linda, 
CA; grandsons Ernest Adalbert Brooks III of San Francisco, Philip A. 
Nicholas Brooks of Nashville, Leon Benjamin Metz 111, Lionel Nicholas 
Metz and Laurence Christopher Metz, all of San Francisco; nieces, 
Noreen Blanche Nicholas, Audrey Nicholas Caldwell (Van), Paula DeLeon 
(Hixford), Maxine Ebanks (Samuel), Carinen Nicholas and Grace Lewis; 
nephews, Dr. Phillip Boume (Vicky), Cecil Nicholas and Dr. Earl 
Nicholas (Wonza); sister-in-law, Vertibelle Lewis; dear cousins, Mavis 
and Ferdie Madden; many grandnieces and nephews; several cousins; 
``sisters'' Ruby Smith and Izetta Cooper; devoted friends, Dr. Alford 
and Dorothy Vassall, Drs. Myrtle and George Mason and family; Pearline 
Gilpin Fletcher, Joy Vassall and daughter Camille; and a host of dear 
friends, relatives and colleagues.
  Today we honor Dr. Nicholas' significant investment to Tennessee as a 
truly compassionate leader and friend. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the 
balance of my time.

                          ____________________