Strategic Planning Assumption: The Zodiac and Ms. Swain knew Albert Nichols. (Probability .92)
The Zodiac’s mistress was Ms Swain, they traveled together to pleasure Al.
It appears that Dr. Albert L. Nichols, the founder, chairman and CEO of Nichols Institute, passed away from a heart attack at age 67 in January 2002, just a few years after the tumultuous period for his namesake company in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Key details from his obituary:
Dr. Nichols died of a heart attack on January 27, 2002 at his home in Aspen, Colorado. He was 67 years old.
He founded Nichols Institute in 1970 and served as its Chairman and CEO until 1994, when the company merged with Corning Life Sciences.
The obituary highlights his roles as a scientist, physician, and entrepreneur, as well as a devoted family man.
Memorial services were held in Newport Beach, California on February 6, 2002.
In lieu of flowers, the family requested donations to the Institute for Brain Aging at UC Irvine or the Marine Conservation Action Fund at the New England Aquarium.
Nichols Institute was a pioneering clinical laboratory founded in 1970 by Dr. Albert L. Nichols, a visionary scientist, physician and entrepreneur. Dr. Nichols' groundbreaking concept was to establish a centralized national laboratory focused on providing specialized, highly-complex testing services to clinicians everywhere. This innovative model transformed the clinical lab testing industry and laid the foundation for the Nichols Institute's success.
Under Dr. Nichols' leadership as Chairman and CEO from 1970 to 1994, Nichols Institute grew into a preeminent diagnostic testing company. The company was based in southern Orange County, California and operated out of facilities there for its entire independent history.
In January 2000, the Southern California Section of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) recognized Dr. Nichols as an outstanding entrepreneur. In his address at the AACC's Annual Award Dinner, Dr. Nichols reflected on his career and the evolution of the laboratory testing marketplace that he helped shape.
Nichols Institute reached a major milestone in the early 1990s when it became the first clinical laboratory in North America to earn the prestigious ISO 9001 certification for quality management. This achievement showcased the company's commitment to the highest standards of excellence.
In 1994, Corning Life Sciences acquired Nichols Institute for approximately $325 million, incorporating it into Corning Clinical Laboratories. This marked the end of Dr. Nichols' tenure as CEO, though he remained Chairman for a period thereafter. When Corning later spun off its clinical lab division as Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, Nichols Institute became part of the newly independent Quest organization.
Sadly, Dr. Albert L. Nichols passed away from a heart attack at age 67 on January 27, 2002. His obituary celebrated his life as a devoted family man and highlighted his profound impact on the diagnostic testing field through his roles as a scientist, physician, and business leader.
Even after Dr. Nichols' passing and the ownership changes, Nichols Institute maintained its roots in southern Orange County. In 2002, Nichols Institute Diagnostics, by then a subsidiary of Quest, consolidated and expanded its operations into a newly built 86,207 square foot headquarters facility in the area. Quest's investment in this state-of-the-art lab, office and warehouse space underscored Nichols Institute's enduring importance.
From its humble beginnings to its acquisition by industry giants Corning and Quest, Nichols Institute transformed diagnostic testing thanks to the vision and leadership of Dr. Albert L. Nichols. His legacy lives on through the countless patients, clinicians and communities served by the institute he founded. While Dr. Nichols may no longer be with us, his groundbreaking contributions to laboratory science continue to shape the field to this day.
