Longtime Tyson Foods leader, popular musician Ed Nicholson dies

Longtime Tyson Foods leader and well-known musician Ed Nicholson passed away Friday (July 26) at the age of 71, according to an announcement from his family.

Ernest Edmund “Ed” Nicholson passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by family after a recent illness.

Born in Harrison, Ark., to Jim and Fern Nicholson, Ed Nicholson graduated from Hendrix College with a bachelor’s degree in English after spending a few years on the road playing in bands. He started his non-music career in advertising and helped launch a recording studio, The Works, in Little Rock, before being recruited to Tyson Foods in 1994.

Nicholson was initially a public relations manager and was promoted to senior director of community relations and social media, helping launch Tyson Foods into the social media sphere in 2007. He oversaw the company’s social responsibility and philanthropy, and for nearly a decade during his tenure, he was Tyson Foods’ media spokesman.

He led efforts to work with food banks and disaster relief programs, leading Tyson to donate millions of pounds of food to those needing help.

After retiring from Tyson Foods after a 21-year career in 2016, Nicholson spent time working with the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, the Arkansas Parks and Recreation Foundation, and Elevate Performance, a leadership consulting firm in Northwest Arkansas.

He was a gifted guitarist and musician. Nicholson played music in a number of bands, including The Groanups, Outside the Lines, Big ‘Uns, Hogtown Hot Club, the Arkie DeLeons, and others.

Tyson Foods executive Archie Schaffer recruited Nicholson to work at the Springdale-based protein company in the mid-90’s. He had met Nicholson through politics when his uncle, Dale Bumpers, was running for governor.

“I knew Ed mainly through politics. Ed’s mother was an early Bumpers supporter,” Schaffer said. “That’s how I first met Ed, but I got to know him though music too.”

“When I was allowed to hire somebody at Tyson, Ed was the first person I hired. He was a magnificent human being and a great communicator too,” Schaffer added.

He said Nicholson helped spearhead the company’s efforts on hunger relief and was still involved with those activities after he retired from the company.

“He was a very giving human being. … The world is not going to be the same place without him,” Schaffer said.

Advertising and marketing executive and fellow band member Frank Cox was a lifelong friend of Nicholson’s dating back to their days at Hendrix College.

“Ed beat me to the advertising business by a year or so, and when he changed agencies back in 1980, I stepped into his former role. I met Ed when I was a freshman at Hendrix College and we both played guitar so that was a strong connection. In fact, we co-founded The Groanups band in 1983, and played together for decades,” Cox said.

“Although I didn’t get to see him as much when he moved to Fayetteville around 30 years ago, we talked every week, laughed at the absurdities of life, and still played the occasional gig together. Five days before he passed, I was visiting him in Fayetteville and got to make a long-overdue confession. Before I left, I leaned down and said, ‘You were always better.’ He smiled and in typical gracious fashion, he said, ‘Well, we all bring different things to our playing.’ That was typical Ed and I already miss him terribly,” Cox said.

Nicholson is preceded in death by his father and mother, Jim and Fern Nicholson. He is survived by his wife, Ginger, brother Randy (Kim) Nicholson, son Will (Ali) Nicholson, daughter Julia (Daniel) Cherry, and son Thomas (Rebecca Lee) Nicholson, and his granddaughter, Nora Elaine Nicholson-Lee.

There will be a small ceremony for family, in keeping with his wishes. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations in his honor to Northwest Arkansas Food Bank.