Services will be held at a later date.
Mr. Nilsen was an electrician.
Survivors include his wife, Katherine; two sons, Stephen of Palisade and Stanley of Colorado City; two daughters, Sandra Derryberry and Jackie Stephanus, both of Palisade; one brother, Bill of Grand Junction; two sisters, Margit Mena of Arizona and Ann Lockwood of Cortez; 14 grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren.