Once again Harker held a schoolwide Howard Nichols Cookie Day in honor of the late former head of school’s birthday on Oct. 10.

That day, the preschool, lower and middle schools all held special assemblies and handed out chocolate chip cookies in his memory. The upper school followed suit the following Monday.

The annual tradition celebrates Nichols’ inspirational values that continue to drive the spirit and growth of The Harker School. All four campuses celebrated by having trays of cookies located in various places around school. Nichols, who was known for his sweet tooth, regularly kept a full jar of cookies and other confections in his office that were a hit with visitors.

Nichols was the president of Harker from 1973 until his retirement in 2005. He attended the Palo Alto Military Academy, which was run by his father, Major Donald Nichols. Eventually the Palo Alto Military Academy merged with Miss Harker’s School for Girls and became The Harker School. A memorial to him can be found in the quad on the upper school campus.

It was Howard Nichols and his wife, Diana, whose vision saw the founding of the upper school and the acquisition of the Blackford and Bucknall campuses.

“We honor his warm heart and loving spirit by enjoying chocolate chip cookies each year on that day,” recalled Alana Butler, middle school dean.