Sea Ranch residents John William Nichols and Kathrin Bertram Kopac met in Hawaii in 1987, a few years after losing their spouses, and the meeting opened a new chapter in their lives.
They fell in love and remained inseparable partners, sharing passions for skiing and traveling.
Nichols and Kopac were driving together on Jan. 13 when their car veered off River Road in Forestville and struck a tree. Nichols was killed, and Kopac died three days later. Both were 81.
The accident occurred just a few months after their families had begun discussing moving the couple from their home in Sea Ranch to a senior care facility, something both strongly opposed.
?They never wanted to be without each other,? said John Reis, Kopac?s son-in-law. ?They were very much in love.?
Though born into a multi-generation San Francisco Bay Area family, Nichols preferred the rural life and particularly living close to the water.
In 1960, he moved his family to North Lake Tahoe, into a home he designed and built. As an architect, designer and builder he built several other homes as well in Lake Tahoe.
He also represented the fifth generation on the board of directors for the family business, Tubbs Cordage Co.
After moving with his wife and two daughters to San Rafael, Nichols went to work for the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory, machining parts for the Stanford/Berkeley Proton Electron Project.
After their daughters grew up, the couple moved to an oceanside home in Albion on the Mendocino Coast. After his wife died, Nichols launched himself into other challenges, included crafting a Victorian home overlooking the Bowling Ball Beach in Pt. Arena.
Like Nichols, Kopac was a graduate of University of California at Berkeley, where she studied special education.
One of her first teaching assignments was working with the mentally handicapped at Sonoma State Hospital, now Sonoma Developmental Center. She married Andy Kopac, a psychiatrist on staff.
They lived in Glen Ellen before settling in Sacramento. The couple had four children. She was an exceptional pianist, cook and entertainer.
After her husband died of cancer in 1984, Kopac committed to building the dream home they had always envisioned in Sea Ranch.
After meeting in Hawaii, Nichols and Kopac quickly realized they had many common interests and friends from their time at Berkeley.
They settled together in Kopac?s Sea Ranch home and loved traveling, gardening and feeding the birds.
Nichols is survived by daughters Penelope Nichols of Seattle and Jennifer Nichols of Carson City, Nev; sister Farida Fox of Santa Rosa; and brother Henry Nichols of Puget Sound, Wash.
Kopac is survived by daughter Karen Reis of Menlo Park; daughter Kristi Draluck of Petaluma; and sons Andy Kopac and Nicholas Kopac, both of Sacramento.
A celebration of their lives will be held at noon Saturday Feb. 7 at the Gualala Arts Center, 46501 Gualala Road.
Donations can also be made to the center, www.gualalaarts.org.
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