In 1936, the William Nickell family relocated from New Mexico, to Chandler, Arizona. The family consisted of William (Bill), Mary, and three sons: Billy Vern, the oldest, was fourteen, Bobbie L., seven and Charles Linton, four years of age.

 Their first home was on North Dakota Street, just west of Chandler High School. Later, the Nickells moved to what was then known as Goodyear, for William’s employment with the Boswell Company's 8,000-acre ranch as a zanjero, a worker who transfers water from canals to fields, as needed. In 1945, the Boswell Company sold their land to Mr. Hanna, and relocated to an area near Peoria, Arizona. The Nickells, wishing to stay in the Chandler area, decided to stay in what was renamed Ocotillo in 1945 from the original name of Goodyear.

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 In 1946, the family, minus Billy Vern, who, after graduating from Chandler High, had enlisted in the Army Air Corp in 1940 to become a pilot, again moved; this time, to Kesler Lane in Southside. William worked for a time for the Vaughn Lumber Company in Chandler, and later had his own painting contracting business until his passing in 1955.

 Charles (Chuck) continued residing on Kesler Lane until his marriage in 1961. Bob married prior to his father’s passing in 1955.  Their mother, Mary, continued to live on Kesler Lane until 1965, when she moved to Tempe to be nearer to Chuck and his wife Mary.

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 The three Nickell boys, Billy Vern, Bobbie Lee and Charles, all graduated from Chandler High School; Bob and Chuck also graduated from Arizona State University. Billy Vern retired from the Airforce in 1960 after serving many missions around the world in World War II and on the Berlin Airlift in 1948-1949. Billy continued flying as a commercial pilot for another seventeen years with 20,000 hours of flying time. Bob served twenty years in the Arizona National Guard, retiring from the guard headquarters with the rank of Major. He worked as an engineer for Motorola until his retirement. Chuck worked in the business world for several years and twenty nine as an educator in Arizona (five years in Chandler) and California before retiring in 1996.