Jane Nichols, a retired deputy chief and respected member of Gainesville’s Police Department, has died.
The Gainesville Police Department announced Nichols’ death in a Facebook post Saturday, Oct. 12. “Please keep her family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time,” the post reads.
The post states Nichols joined the Gainesville Police Department (GPD) on February 22, 1982. Nichols would become the department’s first female motor officer and later served in the Criminal Investigation Division in 1988.
Nichols went on to receive promotions to various ranks throughout her career, including sergeant in February 1992, lieutenant in May 1996, captain in 1998 and deputy chief in 2007.
She also served as the interim chief starting January 1, 2010, until her retirement on March 17, 2010.
Nichols, a pioneer for women in the department, made GPD history as the first female officer to hold the ranks of captain, deputy chief and interim chief.
At the time, following about her appointment to interim chief, Nichols said: “It was with great humility and tremendous pride that after almost 28 years in the department, I took the reins of this agency on New Year’s Day, 2010, following the retirement of Chief Frank Hooper. I’m privileged to serve alongside the men and women of the Gainesville Police Department. We’ve dedicated our professional lives to public safety and we’re proud to be Gainesville Police Officers.”
On Nichols’ last day at the department, according to the Facebook post, she gave Maj. Paul Sherman and Capt. Chad White a piece of advice that “all still hold dear” today: “Forget where you came from and focus on where you want to go,” Nichols told them.
“Jane (Nichols) valued her colleagues, family, friends and lighthouses,” the post said. “She also enjoyed visiting Tybee Island…may you rest in peace, chief.”
