Robert Andrew Nielsen

Bob attended Cyprus High School in Magna, Utah, and received his bachelor’s degree in Spanish from the University of Utah. He began his career as a special agent with the FBI where he served for 10 years. That experienced served him well in his role as director of security for Questar Gas Company for over 35 years. He also served as the corporate business continuity manager for Zions Bancorporation where he met his wife, Sheila from Denver, Colorado. After their wedding in Denver, a flip of a coin determined their future home to be in West Jordan, Utah, where they would live for the next nine years with their son, Brady.

Bob had many hobbies including exploring the mountains and ghost towns in Utah and rock hounding in search of unique stones native to Utah. He had a passion for all things related to trains, including building models, visiting museums and studying the history of trains, especially steamers. Bob loved birdwatching in nature and in his backyard. In his spare time, he went to all the new movie releases with his wife and son, crafted holiday ornaments for his grandchildren, and read anything he could get his hands on. Bob had a gift for playing musical instruments and learning foreign languages. He could play the banjo, acoustic guitar, accordion, piano and clarinet. He spoke many foreign languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, Danish and German.

One of Bob’s biggest joys in life was working on genealogy research and helping people uncover the mysteries and stories of their family history. Bob received a Certificate of Genealogy from Boston University. Over the years, Bob has helped hundreds of families uncover their family history and often discovered people in history that helped shape the country and other parts of the world. Seeing people excited to uncover their past family history gave Bob a tremendous amount of joy.

Bob will be remembered for his unique and robust sense of humor and his ability to spin a tale. His outgoing, warm and caring personality enriched the lives of those around him.

Bob was preceded in death by his mother and brothers, Danny and Stewart. He is survived by his father, his loving wife of nine years, and his children and grandchildren. A private family service will be held.