Don Nichols lives his faith, and walks his walk with a smile on his face.

He never meets a stranger, or misses an opportunity to share a laugh.

Soon, he’ll retire after 30 years of service as a pastor in the Tahlequah, Muskogee and Eufaula communities. But even without the pulpit, his mission won’t change.

“I like to bring a little joy to people’s lives by having a positive attitude about things,” he said. “Of all people, Christians ought to be happy and optimistic. There’s so much negativity and sadness.”

He said he always tried to conduct himself so people will recognize him as a Christian witness.

“Honesty, integrity and a positive attitude should be attributes of Christian people,” he said.

The Northeastern State University graduate has focused his time and talent to benefit veterans, along with most everyone else he’s ever met.

“I just like helping veterans and helping people because of my own experiences,” said Nichols, a Vietnam veteran and Purple Heart recipient.

Nichols was shot four times while trying to rescue another soldier and friend who had just been showing off a photo of his new baby – a baby that soldier never got to see.

“I never forgot the sacrifice he made – his wife made, his child made, who had to grow up without her dad,” Nichols said. “That’s a defining moment. That’s when I accepted the Lord.”

Although he promised God to serve him if he would spare his life while at death’s door, the Marine eventually kept that promise.

“It still affects me; I certainly wasn’t a Christian at the time,” he said. “It looked at the time like the worst, but it probably wasn’t. Out of that experience, I knew I wanted to be a pastor.”

The bi-vocational pastor also recently retired as the first national director of Direct Deposit, a program he established at the Muskogee regional office for his denomination.

After completing his undergraduate work in 1972 and his master’s in education, he went to work for the Office of Veterans Affairs as a benefits counselor, and worked as a management analyst for the oversight division of the regional office.

“I had the privilege of writing the policy of the Direct Deposit program,” Nichols said. “And we piloted some programs across the country.”

Nichols’ years of service for veterans may have ended at the regional office, but his commitment to them has not. He is establishing the national employment office for the Military Order of the Purple Heart, a not-for-profit organization to assist veterans with social services.

Through national job fairs, he continues to help veterans find business opportunities or get started in business. One is scheduled for northeastern Oklahoma, Feb. 16, 2010, in Muskogee.

Mentors he appreciates include Troy Baker and Bill Pearson, the highest-ranking Oklahoma man in the Department of Veterans Affairs. Both are examples of “conducting your life with integrity and honor,” he said.

Marion Guy, the pastor at the Nazarene church when Nichols came to Tahlequah, to attend college, is another model.

“I could relate to him,” Nichols said.

They’d both been in the service.

“I really respected his ethics, values and integrity,” he said. “And he was my flight instructor.”

But the real hero in Nichols’ life is Jesus.

“He’s more than that. You can get discouraged with bureaucracy in church, but Jesus was God,” Nichols said. “We understand that he lived his life with such integrity and honor, such a principled life, that we can find fault with the church, we can find fault with people, but we can never find fault with Jesus.”

One reason Nichols chose to retire now is so he can spend time with Lois, his wife and best friend. She has lung cancer.

“She’s very, very sick, and I count it a blessing to take care of her,” he said. “If she gets better and we go back into the ministry, that’s great, but I’m just fortunate to be able to care for her.”

She introduced him to the Church of the Nazarene, which he’d never heard of, when they started attending the Muskogee church.

“I was saved. I formally gave my life to God,” he said. “I never forgot that promise I’d made.”

A four-year theological, pastoral degree in a directed studies program from the Church of the Nazarene, and attending Seminary at Oral Roberts University with a degree in Christian counseling, prepared Nichols for his labor of love.

“Lois took care of music programs for us,” he said. “She’s a great booster and encourager and has a lot of strength in her faith.”

When he met her, he said, not only was she attractive, she was very humble.

“I’m the talking one; she’s the behind-the-scenes person,” he said.

The couple have two sons and a daughter. Monty, minister of music at the Church of the Nazarene and his wife, Sharon, have three daughters: Sydney, Shelby and Sara. Dennis is a captain in the Marine Corps with four children: Chris, Sadie, Maggie and Everett. Courtney has three children: Lauren, Trapper and Colton.

Community outreach has always been a passion for Nichols.

“Being out helping people – that’s what I most enjoyed, and being with people felt like that’s what Jesus would do,” he said. “I call that reaching people where they are.”

The parables are Nichols’ favorites parts of the Bible.

“Parables are the miracles of Christ. They give us an understanding of who Christ was,” he said. “Christ reached to a person with leprosy who was shunned by people; he reached out and healed him. It really tells me who Christ was – someone with compassion and mercy.”

Parables and miracles tell people what a Christian should be, he said.

It’s easier to be a Christian when things are going well, but in adversity, one can really see the measure of a person’s faith, he said.

“Somebody I have great respect and admiration for living her life as a Christian is my wife, Lois,” he said. “Right in the midst of her sickness, she continues to demonstrate faith. She just models what a Christian should be.”