A Look Behind the Scenes at Nicky Chavers
January 25, 2022 | Nicole Chavers Stratton
It is an interesting thing to be raised by someone who is ‘known’ by many people. Someone who has what you would call a ‘public persona.’ My father, Dr. Nicky Chavers, while not a huge Hollywood celebrity, was well known by many. I remember very clearly how he could hardly go anywhere where he was not recognized and greeted by someone. We girls would sometimes tease him about it, but he always took it graciously and it was never something he allowed to go to his head. I am sure his mother was a huge part of the reason for that as she kept him grounded all through his younger years of singing on TV and hosting his own TV shows. She used to say to him ‘Nicky, what you have is a gift. You couldn’t earn it, you didn’t deserve it. It was given to you by God as a downpayment on your very life. You must only use your gifts for Him. And if I ever see you getting the big head about what you are doing, I’ll see to it that you never sing another note.’ And if you knew my grandmother at all, you knew she meant every word she said. What a gift she was to Daddy and to our whole family. She was a simple woman but her philosophy was a guiding light to my father all his life and remains the backbone of the philosophy of The Academy of Arts to this day. In fact, whenever Daddy would be recognized by someone, he would almost ALWAYS remember their name, where they went to church or what school they taught at and how he had met them. His memory was just amazing, but more than that, he had learned at an early age not to get the ‘big head’ but to value others and I believe that is how he remembered people so well.
But for me, Daddy was just Daddy. He was the one who played with us and pushed us on our giant swing in the backyard. He was the best cheese toast maker and storyteller. He was the greatest listener and advice giver. Daddy was just Daddy to me and to all my sisters. At times it was hard to share him with everyone. There were times growing up when I wished people didn’t need his time or abilities so I could have him all to myself. But Daddy wasn’t just for me. Daddy was uniquely designed by God to not only be the father to the four of us girls, and the husband of Sheri Chavers, he was designed to shine forth Christ in a very unique and powerful way for people just like you. He was given gifts by God that had to be shared and I came to not only understand that but love that as well. Daddy was the happiest when he was giving out! He loved talking about truth, writing about truth, singing about truth! In other words, Daddy loved communicating Jesus! He would say to us, ‘Girls, you know someone believes something is true when they are willing to talk about it.’ And until the last moments of his life, my father was talking, singing and writing about Jesus.