As an adult, Richard did not defend his father's actions but always spoke highly of his parents, especially his kind-hearted, quiet mother. The Nixons moved near Hannah's Quaker family in Whittier, California, where they started a small store and gas station (NotableBiographies.com). .
Although the lemon ranch failed, the Nixons persevered to provide for themselves with the shop and gas station; Richard learned from his father that hard work brings forth success. .
For the next three years, the family lived off the gas station and was able to support themselves. In 1925, the fourth youngest brother out of the five, Arthur, suddenly died from tubercular meningitis at the age of seven. Shaking the foundations of Richard's heart, Arthur's death gave Richard the burden of trying to make up for the loss of his dear brother to his parents by having them be more proud of him. With his newfound determination, he finished high school with top marks and was awarded with a scholarship. Richard had hoped to attend Harvard College but had to accept the local Whittier College instead because of the lack of funds. While Richard attended Whittier, his oldest brother, Harold, faced tuberculosis and eventually succumbed to the disease at the age of twenty-three (Randolph 35). Naturally, Richard took his oldest brother's death extremely hard. He had become the oldest sibling. Losing both his younger and oldest brothers gave him the determination to earn top grades in school while trying to take on the responsibilities of being the oldest brother for his two remaining siblings.
In 1934, Nixon graduated from Whittier College (Anderson 7). Although he still yearned to attend Harvard College, he still could not afford the tuition; however, he was given a full scholarship to the new law school at Duke University in North Carolina. Eager to receive a proper education, Richard quickly accepted the offer, but when he arrived he found out that in order to keep the full scholarship he would need to be one of the top students in the class.
