Washington Evening Journal
111 North Marion Avenue
Washington, IA 52353
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Meet your neighbor: Tori Nichols and family
By Sharon Jennings
Apr. 15, 2025 10:06 am
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
Meet your neighbor, Tori Nichols and family. Tori was originally from Burlington but graduated from Danville High School in 2011. She and her husband, Virgil Nichols, moved to Winfield in 2019 after purchasing a home here.
Prior to moving to Winfield, Tori lived in several area towns, West Point, Danville, and Olds before moving to Winfield. Tori has held several jobs; her current job is assistant manager at Winfield’s Dollar General where she has worked for two years.
Her previous jobs included work at three different gas stations. Hibbett’s Sporting Goods, and the American Hotel in Mt. Pleasant. Tori says what she likes best about her current job is “my amazing coworkers and the awesome customers we have every day.”
Tori is the middle child and only girl of Barbara Burkett and Leslie Schullie. She has an older brother and a younger brother. When asked about her family, Tori replied, “I have three beautiful children, Zaylee is my oldest. She is going to be 12, Abby is my middle child, and she will be 8, Mark is my baby, and he is 7.” Tori is also a stepmom to “two amazing boys, Virgil (Lee) 11 and Mason Nichols, 9.”
Tori’s husband Virgil is originally from Muscatine but attended WMU school after moving here. They met at Big Hollow in 2014. Tori had taken her daughter Zaylee there to swim. Tori and Virgil were together for 11 years and have been married for five months.
When asked about the benefits of living in a small town, Tori replied, "It can feel like one big family when you need it. There is always someone to help. The cons are like those of any small-town rumors spread fast and the more they are spread, the more they change.”
Tori said she has a lot of things on her bucket list, but at the top, said Tori, “is to be able to take my kids to see all the amazing things there are to see in this world.”
“I have only been to a few places which are El Paso, Texas when we traveled down there to see my oldest bother when he came back from Afghanistan, the other place was down to Georgia to see my brother when he graduated from basic training,” she said.
Tori’s favor pastime is doing Diamond art pictures.
“They are time consuming, but to me they are so relaxing.”
Tori’s advice to youth is: “Always follow your heart and if something doesn’t sit right with you, don’t do it, don’t stay. You are the only person you need to worry about keeping happy. Do not put all your energy into making everyone else happy and lose yourself in the process.”