Elwyn Nicholson

Elwyn John Nicholson (December 11, 1923 – September 28, 2014) was a grocery store owner from Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, who served as a Democrat in the Louisiana State Senate from District 8 from 1972 to 1988 during the first three administrations of Governor Edwin Edwards and the interceding term of Republican David C. Treen.[1] He was best known for his advocacy of the creation of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Barataria Preserve.[2]

Elwyn John Nicholson
Louisiana State Senator for District 8 (Jefferson Parish)
In office May 1972 – March 1988
Personal details
Born	December 11, 1923 Westwego, Louisiana, US
Died	September 28, 2014 (aged 90)
Resting place	Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Rose Marie Wojtyna Nicholson (married c. 1946–2014, his death)
Children	2
Residence	Marrero in Jefferson Parish
Alma mater	Eunice High School Louisiana State University Tulane University
Occupation	Businessman
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
Battles/wars	Battle of Okinawa in World War II

Background

Though born in Westwego in Jefferson Parish,[2] Nicholson was listed at the age of sixteen in the 1940 U.S. Census as residing in Eunice in St. Landry Parish in the 1940 U.S. Census, along with his grandfather, Ensche Jeansonni (born c. 1877), and his parents, John Nicholson, II (born c. 1903), and Eve Nicholson (born c. 1904).[3] He graduated from Eunice High School and attended on a football scholarship Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge but after an injury transferred to Tulane University in New Orleans.[2]

In 1944, Nicholson enlisted in the United States Army. Fluent in French, he became an interpreter in New Caledonia on the staff of General Douglas MacArthur. Having studied pre-medicine, he ran a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, or MASH unit, when he was transferred to Okinawa, where he met Rose Marie Wojtyna (born January 1923), an Army Nursing Corps officer whom he soon married.[2]

Career

When he returned from the war to Jefferson Parish, Nicholson purchased a grandfather's corner grocery store. Nicholson and Loup Food Giant, as it became known, expanded to locations in Marrero, Gretna, and Kenner, with gross annual sales of $27 million.[2]

As a four-term state senator, Nicholson pushed for the elimination in 1986 of the Louisiana blue laws, which had limited what products could be legally sold on Sundays, a Good Samaritan law to insulate from legal liability those rendering assistance to those in need, and a reduction of the state sales tax on food and prescription drugs. He worked to pass legislation to fund such construction projects as the Crescent City Connection, the elevated West Bank Expressway, the Earhart Expressway, and the Lafitte-Larose Highway. He also advocated preservation of the state coastal wetlands from erosion.[2]

On February 3, 1986, Senator Nicholson told Westwego Rotarians that racial integration of public schools had "destroyed our educational base."[2] He suggested that pupil test scores would reflect a considerable disparity if they were separated by race. His son, John W. Nicholson, III (born September 1952), said that his father's "words came out the wrong way" but that Nicholson was not "racist" and had hired black employees in his stores.[2] The remarks led to a boycott by African Americans of the Nicholson stores[2] and the next year defeat at the polls.

Nicholson was handily unseated in the state Senate in the 1987 nonpartisan blanket primary by his fellow Democrat Chris Ullo, also a Jefferson Parish businessman. Ullo led a three-candidate field with 15,973 votes (54.8 percent) to Nicholson's 10,847 (37.2 percent). A third candidate, Johnny Nobles, held the remaining 2,329 ballots (8 percent).[4]

Twelve years after his defeat, Nicholson polled 13.8 percent of the vote in the 1999 primary in a bid to unseat Ullo, who led a three-candidate field with 77.2 percent of the ballots cast.[5] Ullo died in January 2014.

Personal life and death

Nicholson resided in Marrero. In addition to their son and his wife, Kathleen, Elwyn and Rose Nicholson have a daughter, Sharon N. Lewis and husband Michael, all of Marrero, six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. He has a surviving sister, Carole N. Malbrough (born c. 1940) of Marrero, and had a younger deceased brother, Dr. Farrell R. Nicholson Sr.[6]

Nicholson died of natural causes at the age of ninety. He was a Roman Catholic. He is interred at Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans.[6]

References

1. "Membership of the Louisiana State Senate, 1880-2011" (PDF). legis.state.la.us. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
2. Andrea Shaw (October 10, 2014). "Sen. Elwyn Nicholson, a West Bank grocer, Jean Lafitte National Park proponent, dies at 90". New Orleans Times-Picayune. Archived from the original on October 23, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
3. "Elwyn Nicholson". archives.com. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
4. "Official Election Results: 10/24/1987". Louisiana Secretary of State. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
5. "Official Election Results: 10/23/1999". staticresults.sos.la.gov. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
6. "Elwyn Nicholson". New Orleans Times-Picayune. Retrieved October 17, 2014.

Political offices
Preceded by Multi-member district: Jules G. Mollere John G. Schwegmann Samuel B. Nunez Jr.	Louisiana State Senator for District 8 (Jefferson Parish) Elwyn John Nicholson 1972–1988	Succeeded by Chris Ullo