of Little Rock, AR

April 15, 1936 - May 8, 2025

Martha Ann (Williams) Nicholas, age 89, of Little Rock, AR went to her heavenly home to be with her Lord and Savior on May 8, 2025. She was born to Dr. Hubert E. and Beatrice Williams on April 15, 1936. She was preceded in death by her parents, her loving husband, Dr. Doyne Jack Nicholas of 64 years and 10 months and her brother, Steve Williams. She is survived by a brother, Jim Williams (Pam) of Midlothian, TX, Sister-in-law Melanie Williams, widow of Steve Williams of Cumming, GA, two nephews, Scott Williams (Kim) of Dallas, TX and Robert Williams (Dacia) of Walnut Ridge, AR two nieces, Carrie Sharp (David) of Arkadelphia, AR and Renee Hart of Chapel Hill, TN and their families and many cousins and many friends including JoAnn Priddy of Amarillo, TX and Dee Massengale of Little Rock, AR who have been like sisters to Martha.

Martha became a Christian at age 9 and that decision impacted her entire life. She was always active in the churches she was a member of, supportive in assisting her husband in the Christian work he did as a minister and· Christian educator and served as a Christian educator herself. Music was always a strong force in Martha's life and was evident in her church work as a choral member, vocal soloist and church pianist. Martha served in many other capacities throughout her life in the churches where she was a member. She was a member of Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock since 2008.

In 1954 Martha married Doyne Jack Nicholas. Jack was an ordained Baptist minister at the time of their marriage and they were both full-time college students preparing for the work God called them to do. Jack and Martha worked together as a team to do the work God called them to do from the time they began dating and throughout their marriage. Their teamwork was at play in the twelve years they were pursuing their education, while serving churches as pastor and wife and while serving as President and Wife at Williams Baptist University. They also had many adventures together throughout their marriage during their extensive travels throughout the United States and several foreign countries. Some of their travels were in their own airplane in which Jack was an accomplished private pilot and some were with their recreational vehicles.

Martha played a significant role in the support of her husband's work. She made it possible for Jack to attend graduate school as a full-time student for two master's and one-Doctorate degrees by being the principal wage earner for seven years. She was always a strong supporter of his ministerial work as he served churches as pastor, interim pastor and guest minister. She accompanied him when he was the guest minister at many different churches in California and all over Arkansas and Southeast Missouri while Jack worked at California Baptist University and during the 30 years they both worked at Williams Baptist University. Prior to those 31 years, Jack was the pastor of churches while both he and Martha were pursuing their education.

Martha had strong ties to Williams Baptist University. She had the distinction of being the daughter of the founder and first President of Williams Baptist University and the wife of the second President of Williams Baptist University which together represented 50 years in the life of the university. And for 30 years during that time period (1966 to 1996) Martha was the Head Librarian at the university. Martha grew up living on the campus, met her husband there, married in the campus chapel and lived there as an employee for thirty years.

Martha attended Walnut Ridge, AR High School, and Williams Baptist University. She graduated from Arkansas State University in 1958 with a Bachelor's degree and from the University of North Texas in 1964 with a Master's degree in Library Science. Martha was a public school elementary teacher for eleven years in Missouri, Texas and California. She was the Head Librarian at Williams Baptist University for 30 years. During her tenure at WBU the library holdings increased significantly, on-line access to library holdings occurred and upgrading to meet senior college requirements among other advancements were accomplished.

Retirement began in 1996 for Martha and Jack. In their retirement years they did a lot of volunteer work in their church and community which included mission work in Arkansas and Israel.

A memorial service will be held at 11:30am, Friday, May 16, 2025 at Immanuel Baptist Church Chapel. Visitation will be 11:00 am, prior to the service at the church. A private entombment will be at Forest Hills Memorial Park. Arrangements are by Roller-Chenal Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Williams Baptist University, Institutional Development Office, Box 3736, Walnut Ridge, AR 72476-9911.

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