Robert Nielsen

The Record was sad to hear of the passing of Robert Nielsen late last year.  Robert provided numerous historical pictures to the paper over the years, which his father had taken and Robert had restored.  His father, Owen (O.B.) was the former dentist in Moville. Robert’s obituary follows:

Beloved husband, father, grandpa, and friend Robert Harold Nielsen (Bob), passed away in his home in Olathe, CO on Sunday, September 15 after a battle with melanoma.

Bob was born on June 30, 1950 in Sioux City, IA to Theone (Larson) and Owen Nielsen. He remembers fondly his small town childhood in Moville, IA before moving to Spirit Lake, IA where he met his wife Cathee and graduated from high school in 1968.

He later graduated from Mankato State College with a Bachelor of Arts degree with an emphasis in photography, water color, and jewelry making. He and Cathee were married on August 21, 1971, in Spirit Lake. They spent time living in Mankato, MN and Grand Junction, CO before moving to Olathe in 1979.

Bob’s Montrose business, Great Western Camera Company celebrated its 40th anniversary in August.

He loved his family and staying in touch with his friends, new and old. Bob is preceded in death by his parents Theone and Owen Nielsen.

He is survived by his wife Cathalee Cornell Nielsen of Olathe and four children; Elizabeth (David) Gleason of Sutherland, NE; Emily (Josh) Vigil of Montrose, CO; Cassandra Nielsen of North Platte, NE; and son Benjamin (Amy) Nielsen of Montrose, CO as well as nine grandchildren: Marlee and Hadley Gleason, Alicea, Bowden and Izabella Vigil, Lorelai Canavan, Kara-leigh and Triston Nielsen, and Lilaena Hasler. Other surviving family members include his sister, Julianne Wagner of Muscatine, IA and his brother Rick Nielsen of Spirit Lake, IA.