ROCKFORD — Dan Nicholas is being remembered by family and friends for his passion for flowers and exotic plants and for his vision of beautifying the community where he was born and raised. He was a devoted husband and father, a U.S. Army veteran, a successful financial services executive and a political advisor. Nicholas, who along with brothers Ab and Bill, donated funds to build the Nicholas Conservatory, died Monday at age 93. “They grew up as boys walking across the river on the ice and skating on the old lagoon,” Nicholas’ oldest child, Scott, said of his father and uncles. “They thought the conservatory would be a great memorial to our grandparents, William and Ruby. It was an extension of what mom and dad loved with their gardening.”