Ret. SFC. John "Sonny" Alexander Nicholson, Jr.

Bennettsville, SC

John Alexander "Sonny" Nicholson, Jr. passed away at Scotland Memorial Hospital in Laurinburg, NC on Sunday, July 23, 2023. He was 84 years old. 

Born in Bennettsville, SC on February 17, 1939, he was the son of the late John Alexander Nicholson, Sr. and Eleanor Frances Pearson. 

Sonny graduated from Bennettsville High School and later attended Chesterfield-Marlboro Technical College. He enlisted in the Army National Guard and served overseas in Germany before later transferring to the U.S. Army Reserves where he spent the remainder of his military career. 

In 1975, he married the late Margaret Delaine Burroughs of McColl, daughter of the late Clarence Edward Burroughs and Ruby Geneva Fender. Sonny and Margaret remained married for 41 years until her death in 2017. 

In 1991, Sonny was recalled to active duty after the outbreak of the first Gulf War and was deployed to the front lines of the conflict in northeastern Saudi Arabia. Soon thereafter, he participated in the liberation of Kuwait before returning home to Marlboro County and retiring from military service at the rank of Sergeant First Class. 

During his long retirement, Sonny thoroughly enjoyed buying, selling, and trading guns, antiques, and other collectibles. He became a regular at gun shows all over the Southeast where he made countless friends and acquaintances. He was an avid lover of Western and classic movies, and so skilled was he at bestowing their virtues that he managed to cajole his young son into watching classic TV series with him by convincing him that they were "just cartoons in black and white." 

In his twilight years, Sonny dearly loved his daily routine of morning coffee in Bennettsville with friends, then making the rounds to various cafes, restaurants, and shops all over Marlboro County to say hello to and catch up with anyone and everyone, all of whom affectionately knew him as "Mr. Sonny." 

He is survived by his son, John Alexander Nicholson III of Granada, Spain; his daughter, Jennifer Nicholson Graham; and his sister, Frances Nicholson Townsend of Bennettsville, SC. 

Funeral services will be on Friday, July 28, 2023, at Eastside Baptist Church in McColl, officiated by Rev. Roger Williams. Serving as pallbearers are Ebbie Webster, James White, Cliff Kizer, Randy Medlin, Rusty Fowler, and Jimmy Jones. He will be laid to rest alongside his late wife and parents with full military honors at Newton Cemetery.

Online condolences may be made at www.rogersofmccoll.com.

Rogers Funeral Home is honored to assist the Nicholson family.

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