Darrell Alan Nickal October 29, 1965 - September 15, 2025
- Media Logic Radio
- Sep 23
- 3 min read
Darrell's Obituary
Darrell A. Nickal, 59, of Sterling passed away Monday, September 15, 2025, after fighting a long battle with cancer. A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Monday, September 22 at the Cody Craven Training Center next to the 21st Century Equipment building with Russell Ball officiating. The family would like you to stay after the service for lunch.
Darrell was born October 29, 1965, in Akron, CO to Harold R. Nickal and Carol J. (McKnight) Nickal. He went to school in Akron and graduated in 1984.
When Darrell went to college in Denver, he met Donna Marques and they were married on February 8th, 1991. She had two daughters that she brought with her, Georgie and Kerry that he treated like his own. They made their home in Sterling. Darrell and Donna were married for 21 years before Donna’s passing on July 26th, 2012.
Darrell married Becky Reed on August 22nd, 2015. They loved going to Sturgis every year and riding their Harley motorcycle. They bought a camper to go to Sturgis with and found they loved camping too. They enjoyed many adventures together!
In 2021, Darrell was diagnosed with Renal Cell Carcinoma in his left kidney. They took out the kidney and he did a year of immunotherapy and was clear of cancer. In the beginning of 2023, the cancer came back in his lungs. He tried several different therapies to try to beat it. All while trying to work and get the training center started. He tried so hard to beat it.
Darrell started working for the John Deere dealership in Sterling after he came back to Sterling in 1989. He worked through several different ownerships and several different positions within the company. He took great pride in his work and gave it his all. His greatest pride was the training center that he and Cody Craven started. He loved to teach the technicians how to work on the tractors and solve mechanical and computer issues. He was employed by them for 36 years.
Darrell is preceded in death by his parents, Harold and Carol, his wife, Donna, his sister, Debra, and his brother, Duane, his grandparents and several aunts and uncles; special kitties, Mutts and Heather, and our dog, Cheeto.
Darrell is survived by his wife, Becky, Donna’s daughters, Georgie (Ralph) and Kerry (Bob), Becky’s daughters, Sara (Ben) and Kaleigh (Camilo), grandchildren Angie, LaTasha, Sam, and Atiana and several nieces and nephews, as well.
Darrell is also survived by, in his words, his ‘little zoo’ of animals. Dogs Franky and Taffy, kitty Toby, and parakeet, Mr. Cheepers.
A special thanks to Darrell’s 21st Century family, who loved him so very much! And, to Becky’s work, Timmerman Feeding Co. for being so understanding with Darrell’s cancer.
In lieu of flowers, the family would like to request that you donate to the American Cancer Society or the Logan County Humane Society.
With heavy hearts, we here at 21st Century Equipment lost our dear friend and colleague, Darrell Nickal, on the morning of Monday, September 15. Darrell was taken from us following a battle with cancer, a fight which never seemed to dampen his spirit and could not keep him from his passion for teaching others to become knowledgeable and successful in our industry. Darrell will be remembered for his endless supplies of kindness and wisdom, working as our Enterprise Training Manager for several years in what was recently dubbed the Cody Craven Training Center. Though Cody and Darrell have now both passed on, we will treasure their memories forever.
