Neva T Nielsen

January 7, 1928 - November 29, 2024

Our sweet Neva - Mom, Grandma, and Great Grandma left this life behind in the warm confines of her home with loved ones at her side. Her wish of leaving this life, as did her loving husband Cy, in the house that he built seventy years ago was granted her. Nothing could be more appropriate because she was the magic that made this humble house a HOME. A home that was a special place filled with unconditional love, warmth, and kindness. A place where children, nieces, nephews, friends, grandkids, and great grandkids loved to gather over those magical seventy years. It was always a little piece of heaven on earth, or so it always seemed because of sweet Neva and her loving companion Cy.

Neva Margaret Thomas Nielsen was born in Malad, Idaho on January 7, 1928 to David Stephen Thomas and Minnie Ashton Thomas. She always spoke fondly of the wonderful childhood years in Malad that she shared with her older brother David and her loving younger sister (and best friend) Peggy. At the age of twelve she moved with her family to Ogden, Utah. In Ogden she started junior high school and then went on to graduate from Ogden High School. Following high school she attended and graduated from Weber State College with an associate degree in business and secretarial studies.

Soon after her college graduation she found the love of her life, Cyrus Otto Nielsen, Jr., and they were married in the Salt Lake Temple on June 15, 1951. Three years later they moved into the home that Cy built and that fall their first child, Mark, was born. Over the next ten years three more children followed Amy, Lori, and Eric. Neva loved being at home with her children. She loved to cook (and she was good at it) and she always made sure her husband and children were well fed with great home-cooked meals. Dinner was always a family affair, which in later years often also included friends of the children.

When her kids were older, she began working at the University of Utah. She worked as an executive secretary for the Dean of the Utah Geological Survey for three years and then moved to the Graduate School of Social Work where she was the executive secretary for numerous Deans over the next twenty years. She loved her time at the University and was honored with the University wide Distinguished Staff award for her service in the School of Social Work. She treasured the many friendships she made during her years at the University of Utah.

She enjoyed her many callings in her church service in the Mountain View Second Ward where she worked in the primary, the young womens, and the relief society. She always cherished the many wonderful friends that were part of her Mountain View Second Ward family. She and Cy were called to a service mission for two years in the McKinley Ward, which expanded her friendships and the people she touched. The love of her husband and family was the most important thing in her life, along with a special bond that she shared with her sister Peggy. In their retirement years, Neva, Cy, and Peggy often traveled together and shared many wonderful experiences. Neva will be missed by those she left behind, but she lives on in each and every one of us. She left an indelible mark that can never be lost by all those she touched with her loving spirit.

Neva was preceded in death by her father, mother, and her brother, David Stephen Thomas, Jr. and her sister, Peggy Thomas Layton. Her loving husband preceded her in death by eleven years. These last years she would speak lovingly about reuniting with them again. Her loving children and their spouses that she leaves behind are: Mark (Brenda Devitt), Amy (Richard Hogan), Lori (Paul Driggs), Eric (Robyn Radford), Debbie Peery Nielsen, and adopted daughter Marilyn Kidd, along with twenty-one grandchildren and twenty-seven great grandchildren. For the past eight months her sweet granddaughter Kate lived with her and was her loving companion. During the final weeks as her health failed, Kate was joined by Marilyn for around the clock care. These two angels here on earth deserve a big thank you. The family also extends thanks to the wonderful hospice team that worked with Mom.

Memorial services will be held Thursday 5 December at the Hillside Stake Center on 1400 South and 1900 East. A

viewing will begin at 10:00 AM, followed by a memorial service at 11:00.