Jewelry business was Nacol's passion

Raymond Nacol was a passionate businessman who knew how to enjoy the ride - embracing life's ups and downs, until his death Wednesday.

"The jewelry business was his life," said his son Patrick Nacol.

He said his father came from the oldest family still running an independent jewelry store, tracing the business back to the mid-1800s. His father opened Nacol's Jewelers in Biloxi in 1970, the first of several stores, and he was also a founding member of Jefferson Bank.

Nacol said his father was very well respected in the business community.

"He helped a lot of people now very successful in business get started," said Nacol. "It wasn't necessarily just financial assistance. A lot of people went to him for advice."

He was a very good businessman, said Nacol, but it was about more than making money.

"He died doing what he loved in the jewelry business," said Nacol. "He said if you find something you truly enjoy and you can make a living at it, sooner or later the money will come."

He loved camping and riding his motorcycle, said Nacol, and he taught his three sons to ride as soon as they were old enough.

"It relaxed him," said Nacol. "When you get on a bike and you don't have a destination, it's all about the enjoyment of the ride."

Nacol said his father was very active in the Jaycees and helping the community develop.

"When he came to Biloxi in 1960, they didn't know what sidewalks were," said Nacol.

He said his father helped get sidewalks installed downtown and was involved in many other community projects.

Nacol said he heard his father would reminisce about the "good old days" when residents could "stand up and fight and get things done."

His father was an outspoken person who didn't hold back his opinions, but his son said he was equally adamant about telling people how much he cared.

"If he ever got in an argument with someone, before they parted he always would give them a hug and tell them he loved him," said Nacol. "An argument to him was working things out."

He said his father would sometimes catch friends off guard with his affectionate expressions. He loved his friends and wanted them to know it, said Nacol.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Home on Howard Avenue in Biloxi.
Source: sunherald