Eric Kenneth Nielsen

Ken was born on February 29th – Leap Day – 1940 in Port Jefferson, Long Island. His parents, Ejnar Nielsen and Karin Troedsson Nielsen, were immigrants from Denmark and Sweden, respectively, who had married in the United States in 1936. When he was a boy, Ken’s family operated a poultry farm in Farmingville, Long Island which raised up to 20,000 chickens at a time for the New York City market. His boyhood was made more difficult by the loss of his father in 1954.

Ken attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) on a ROTC scholarship, graduating in 1961. He married Janet Worrad in August of that same year.

Upon graduating, Ken accepted an offer of employment from the Hartford Electric Light Company (HELCO) but delayed his start date for two years while serving in the U.S. Army to satisfy his ROTC obligation. From 1961 to 1963, Ken and Janet were assigned to the Fort Rucker Army Base in Enterprise, Alabama. During the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, Ken was sent to Florida in preparation for combat deployment – a harrowing prospect averted by the subsequent resolution of the crisis.

After military service, Ken and Janet moved to Hartford, Connecticut, where Ken commenced employment as an electrical engineer with HELCO.

In 1969, the family, by then including sons Steven and Mark, settled in Southwick, Massachusetts. They attended the Covenant Presbyterian Church in nearby Simsbury, Connecticut, where Ken went on to serve as an elder for many years.

In 1986, Ken and Janet planned a trip to Sweden and Denmark to see the places where Ken’s parents had grown up. They contacted no one in advance because they knew none of Ken’s Scandinavian relatives. They did, however, bring Ken’s mother’s address book, which they had discovered among her things when she died in 1969. Toward the end of the trip, with the assistance of a hotel clerk, they placed a call to a number in the address book. This call soon led to a joyful invitation to meet an assortment of relatives gathered on the family farm located near Bjorkeryd, Sweden. A family tie, seemingly lost forever, had been rekindled. Ken and Janet have remained close with his Swedish and Danish relatives to the present day – with many trips made and gatherings held, in both Scandinavia and the United States.

Ken remained with HELCO’s parent company, Northeast Utilities, for his entire career, which included over 20 years as an executive at the New England Power Pool (later renamed ISO New England). He retired in 2000. In retirement, Ken found additional opportunities to serve, including church-led short-term mission trips to Nigeria and Costa Rica.

Ken was especially loyal to InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, a Christian ministry to college students in which he had participated while a student at RPI. He served on InterVarsity’s national board of directors for 34 years, including 6 years as board chair.

Ken was predeceased by his brother, Kurt, and a granddaughter, Margaret. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Janet, sons Steve (Elizabeth) and Mark (Jane), grandchildren Eric (Elyse), Tim (Katie), Robert and Helen, and great-grandchildren Julia and Eleanor.

Ken will be remembered for his steadfast nature, bedrock decency, and faith in God. To his family, he was a role model on how to live a life of purpose and meaning.

Calling hours will be held on Friday, September 13 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Hall & Higgins Funeral Home in Stephentown, New York, with a graveside service to take place the following morning, Saturday, September 14, at 10:45 a.m. at the Hancock Town Cemetery in Hancock, Massachusetts. A service celebrating Ken’s life will be held on a later date to be determined at First Presbyterian Church in North Palm Beach, Florida. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Ken’s memory may be made to InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, P.O. Box 7895, Madison, Wisconsin 53707.