Susan Sims Britt Nichols passed away peacefully in Oslo, Norway, on December 1, 2025, after being hospitalized for almost a month with multiple myeloma. Her husband was at her side.
Susan was born in Tallahassee, Florida, on December 31, 1968. She and her family moved to Austin, Texas, in 1973, and to Durant, Oklahoma in 1976. Susan was very active in dance, show choir, and theater in school, and she enjoyed acting in the annual Oklahoma Shakespearean Festival at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. She was an honor graduate of Durant High School and Austin College where she majored in both English and philosophy.
After college, Susan moved to Austin, Texas, where she met and married the love of her life, Anthony Nichols. She is survived by Tony and their daughter, Harper Youngli Nichols, the center of their world. Having lived in Norway for nineteen years, they enjoyed taking the many opportunities for travel as well as staying home with a rotating cast of mostly large lazy dogs.
A consummate wordsmith, Susan’s career revolved around writing and editing. After working in this capacity in both the educational publishing and tech sectors, she felt called to join her husband at the Norwegian Refugee Council where she led the Knowledge Management and Internal Communication efforts.
Susan’s passion for justice was the driving force behind what she said, what she did, and how she lived. She loved ideas. She was very intelligent and had a keen sense of humor. Her life was not long enough, but it was very, very full. She made a positive difference.
In addition to her husband and daughter, Susan is survived by her parents, Walter and Pat Britt of Durant, brother Brian (Alicia) Britt of Norman, sister Alice (Michael) Dills of Durant, nephew Bradley Dills, and nieces Natalie Dills, Lindsay Dills, and Avery Britt, her mother-in law, Niki Nichols of Cuenca, Ecuador, sister-in-law Tina Delk (Doug), nephew Christopher Bryant (Alaina), niece Nicole Bryant, great-niece Reese Bryant, and a huge extended family of loving aunts, uncles, and cousins.
A celebration of Susan’s life will be held Sunday, December 28, at 2 p.m. at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Durant with Pastor Joan Iker presiding. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that friends make donations in her honor to the Oklahoma Shakespearean Festival at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 1614 N 1st Ave, Durant, OK 74701-2816 or the Norwegian Refugee Council online at https://support.nrc.no.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit – Psalm 34:18