Memorial for Dr. Terry Nichols (1941-2014), former chair of the department of theology at the University of St. Thomas and co-founder of the University's Muslim-Christian Dialogue Center.

1. Dr. Terry Nichols
Beloved
Husband,
Father,
Grandfather,
Brother,
Colleague,
and
Friend
1941-­‐2014

2. “He
helped
so
many
people
who
are
otherwise
invisible
and
seemingly
insignificant
in
the
eyes
of
the
world.
All
Terry
ever
did
was
give,
without
asking
for
anything
in
return.”
—Anonymous
colleague

3. Young Scholar

5. “Terry
was
a
man
of
honor,
dignity
and
compassion
and
a
great
representative
of
moral
and
high
values,
a
friend,
a
teacher
that
will
be
missed.”
—Ahmad
Yassine

8. Beloved Husband

10. “I
will
never
forget
the
kindness
and
compassion
that
you
[Mabel]
and
Terry
showed
to
me
when
I
lived
in
Saint
Paul.
Terry
was
a
deeply
honorable,
generous,
sincere,
and
reflective
person—it
is
difficult
to
believe
that
he
is
gone.”
—Anonymous
colleague

21. Family

37. Muslim-Christian Dialogue

39. “Terry
was
my
friend,
my
mentor,
and
a
man
of
great
character.
His
love
of
God
and
for
his
neighbor
exemplified
what
a
true
follower
of
Jesus
Christ
should
be.”
—Odeh
A.
Muhawesh

41. “He
always
insisted
that
I
call
him
Terry
and
I
always
insisted
on
calling
him
Mr.
Nichols.”
—Khaled
Sharafuddin

57. “When
he
heard
that
I
was
from
Iran
and
followed
the
Baha’i
Faith,
he
was
very
interested
in
talking
with
me
about
my
belief.
We
started
a
dialogue
about
unity,
peace,
and
the
oneness
of
religions.”
—Cheri
Shakiban

59. “It’s
striking
to
me
as
a
Catholic
theologian
that
we
teach
about
God
from
the
Hebrew
and
Christian
scriptures
but
ignore
the
perception
of
God
in
Islam.
.
.
.
[T]hese
Muslim
theologians
with
whom
we
are
in
conversation
are
trying
to
do
the
same
thing
in
their
world
that
we
Christian
theologians
are
trying
to
do
in
our
world:
to
teach
people
about
God,
what
God
expects
of
us,
and
how
we
come
back
to
fellowship
with
God.
We
are
fellow
workers
in
different
vineyards.
So,
as
Christian
theologians,
I
think
I
have
a
lot
to
learn
from
our
Muslim
colleagues;
they
are
exploring
the
same
territory
we
are,
from
within
a
different
tradition.”
—Terence
Nichols,
from
“The
Hope
of
Muslim
Christian
Dialogue,”
March
4,
2014
(Terry’s
last
public
lecture)

60. Author

62. “Of
course,
heaven
is
a
mystery.
There
is
much
about
it
we
cannot
know
but
will
discover
only
when
we
arrive.
But
it
is
not
true
that
we
know
nothing
about
heaven
or
about
the
afterlife.
We
know
we
will
be
with
God
and
the
saints
in
a
communion
of
love.
That
is
and
has
always
been
the
hope
of
Christians
and
of
the
church,
and
it
is
that
great
hope
that
allows
us
to
live
in
the
present
with
joy.”
—Terence
Nichols
from
Death
and
Afterlife:
A
Theological
Introduction

64. “Even
the
poorest,
most
abandoned
person
can
experience
the
transforming
power
of
God’s
grace.
This
is
the
good
news
of
the
gospel—not
just
that
we
will
be
happy
with
God
in
the
afterlife,
but
that
we
can
be
happy
with
God
right
now,
however
desperate
our
situation.”
—Terence
Nichols,
from
The
Sacred
Cosmos:
Christian
Faith
and
the
Challenge
of
Naturalism

66. “[T]he
purpose
of
the
Church
is
to
bring
about
the
union
of
human
beings
with
God
and
with
one
another
through
Christ.
.
.
.
Thus
the
social
structure
of
the
Church
ought
to
be
such
as
to
bring
about
a
unity
between
God
and
human
beings
and
also
to
foster
a
real
unity
among
persons.”
—Terence
Nichols,
from
That
All
May
Be
One:
Hierarchy
and
Participation
in
the
Church

67. Full-Service Chair

69. “He
was
a
universal
fixer.
If
there
is
anything
that
could
be
fixed
in
the
kingdom
of
God,
he
must
be
fixing
it
at
the
moment.
If
it
turns
out
that
there
is
nothing
to
fix
in
heaven,
he
might
be
disappointed.”
—Anonymous
colleague

72. “Terry
was
perhaps
the
most
intense,
brilliant,
and
compassionate
person
I
ever
met.”
—Darrell
Fasching,
Professor
Emeritus,
University
of
South
Florida

73. Teacher

74. “Dr.
Nichols
was
a
fantastic
teacher,
a
wonderful
spiritual
mentor,
and
a
truly
terrific
friend
to
me.
I
am
sure
that
I
will
never
forget
all
of
the
things
he
taught
me,
and
for
as
long
as
I
live
I
will
be
turning
back
to
his
words
to
guide
me
in
through
trouble.”
—William
Strand

78. “Dr.
Nichols
was
an
extraordinary
man
with
extraordinary
courage
and
a
passion
for
knowledge.
He
was
consumed
with
curiosity
about
the
world
around
him,
and
he
simply
had
to
share
it.”
—Madeline
Szempruch,
UST
student

82. Dr. Terry Nichols