Charles Emmet Nielsen

Charles E. Nielsen passed away Monday July 24th, surrounded by his loving family. Charles suffered from Lewy Body Dementia. Personal Story Charles was born January 26, 1932 on a blizzardy night to Niels and Emma Nielsen at the family farmhouse a few miles from Badger, South Dakota. His older brother Clint and dad had to go out and shovel the road and driveway so that the doctor could make it to the house. His grandparents were all Danish immigrants. Charles attended Quinn country school, then Arlington High School where he participated in football, track, and served as student body president before graduating in 1950. After taking a year off to help on the farm, Charles then headed to Anderson College in Anderson, Indiana in 1951 where he earned a B.A. in sociology in 1955 and a Master of Divinity in 1958. Charles was a man of faith and attended a country church within a mile of his home as a boy. It was during his boyhood that he made the decision to put his trust in Jesus as Savior and was baptized in Lake Poinsett. Later the family attended church in Brookings where he met Phyllis Nichols, the love of his life. The two were married July 23, 1953 and celebrated their 64th anniversary just one day before his passing. While living in Anderson the first two of their four children were born (Linda and Randy). He worked full time at General Motors while being a full-time student the entire time he lived in Anderson. From 1958 to 1960 Charles served as music, youth, and Christian Education pastor at the St. Joseph Michigan Church of God. Their third child, Mark, was born while living here. In 1960 the family returned to Brookings, South Dakota where Charles taught at South Dakota State while working on his second master’s degree (sociology). Their fourth child (Patti) was born there. They moved to Dickinson, North Dakota in 1963 where Charles took a position as an Associate Professor of Sociology. In 1966 the Nielsen family moved to Portland where Charles taught a variety of subjects in the social science department at Warner Pacific College. He loved being a college professor. Charles was a dynamic community member with church responsibilities, active on legislative issues, and always working to improve race relations. He was among the founders of Operation Night Watch, a local ministry to the homeless and needy. After his retirement in 1996 after 30 years of teaching at Warner, Charles continued to be very active in Warner events as an emeritus faculty member and received an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Warner in 2012. Charles continued to be active in the community serving actively at Ainsworth United Church of Christ, Oregon Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, the Public Policy Committee of the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, the Board for the Northside Family YMCA, as well as other volunteer positions. In 1998 Charles and Phyllis taught at the Kazak-American College in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan for five weeks. Charles never stopped learning and keeping up on current events. Family was Charles’s passion. Charles was an avid outdoorsmen and loved to travel, camp, boat, fish, hike, and ski with family and friends. The family’s favorite camping spot was at Trillium Lake on Mt. Hood. Family Charles was preceded in death by son Mark, parents Niels and Emma, brother Clint, sister Opal, sister Violet, brother Lyle, and brother Elden. He is survived by his wife Phyllis, brother Curtis (Sioux Falls, South Dakota), sister Vicki Stephens (Tifton, Georgia, husband Frank), Sister-in-law Eris Nielsen, children Linda Plikat (Manfred), Randy Nielsen (Kerri), Patti Long (Tim), daughter-in-law Margie Nielsen, 16 Grandchildren: Adrian Fehr, Nikolas (wife, Ioana Precup) Fehr, Bethany (Fehr)(husband, Joshua) Paetkau, Corey (wife, Emily) Nielsen, Cassie (Nielsen)(husband, Ben) Shirley, Cody Nielsen, Jill (Nielsen)(husband, Kevin) Moua, Brett (wife, Sara) Nielsen, Collin Nielsen, Caitlyn Nielsen, Cameron Nielsen, Colby Nielsen, Sharon (Long)(husband, Jon) McNeil, Matthew (wife, Kaitlin) Long, Bethany (Long)(husband, Tavis) Miller, David (wife, Cammie) Long 23 Great-Grandchildren: Solomon and Rose Paetkau; Ian, Micah, Payton and Elise Nielsen; Jozlyn, Samantha, Rochelle and Jayden Shirley; Jeremiah and Adina Moua; Connor Nielsen; Odin, June and Jonas McNeill; Charlotte, Grace and Gabriel Long; Josephine, Benjamin and Violet Miller; Lukas Long; Charles is also survived by many nieces and nephews. His family live all over the world including Canada, Norway, and Thailand. Information Regarding Services Charles’ life will be celebrated with a Memorial Service Saturday August 5th at 10:30 a.m. in McGuire Auditorium on the campus of Warner Pacific College, 2219 SE 68th Ave, Portland, Oregon, 97215. Memorial Options Warner Pacific College (Charles Nielsen Social Sciences Scholarship Fund) To give online, click on this hotlink: https://warnerpacific.givingfuel.com/wp-giving On the pull down “Select Fund” menu, choose “Other” In the middle of the screen, enter “Charles Nielsen Social Sciences Scholarship Fund” as the designation for your gift. Lewy Body Dementia Association Click here to give online:http://www.lbda.org/donate You can click the box to make the gift in honor of Charles If you would like the family to be notified of your giving, please type the following information in the notification section: Phyllis Nielsen 1417 SE 107th Portland, OR97216 or an organization of your choice.