Richard Carl Nielsen 4/9/1947 – 6/3/2019

Richard Nielsen died peacefully at home on June 3rd, 2019. Thankfully, he is no longer fighting cancer and suffering with other health complications. He leaves behind his loving wife Annie, Annie’s son Jacob Hoopes and his wife Heidi and their children Addison, Kaden, Atalie, Olive, Sydney and Fynn. He also leaves behind his mother-in-law Darlene Chapman and sister-in-law Carolyn Stoops. He will be missed by his daughter Adrianna Tolley, her husband Kraig, and grandchildren Dylan and his wife Luz, Wyatt, and Ethan. Sadly, he did not get to meet his great granddaughter, Katherine, due to arrive in July. Rich was also lucky enough to have a very good friend, Joe Schmidtke, who was always there for him.

Richard was born in Salt Lake City, Utah to sweet parents Richard Lee Nielsen and Nedra Farr (both deceased) and was the eldest of 6 children - Sisters: Kathryn Nielsen (Reed, deceased), Carolyn Paddock, Marianne Harmon (Craig), Brothers: Douglas Nielsen (deceased) and Steven Nielsen (Tamara). He was also an uncle and step uncle to many nieces and nephews.

After graduating from Olympus High School, he attended the College of Eastern Utah in Price, Utah where he met his friend, Keith Herzog (Evelyn) and they remained good friends until Keith’s death in June, 2002. While attending college, he was drafted into the US Army, Private First Class, 1st Infantry, Recon Platoon, and was sent to Viet Nam. He served his country with honor from August 1966 to August 1968 and was honorably discharged. Shortly after returning home, he married Jalyn Outsen on November 26, 1971 (later divorced) and they together raised her daughter, Adrianna. Richard adopted Adrianna and she wishes to express her deep gratitude to him for that.

Richard was briefly married to Kris Markowski in 1992 (later divorced).

After surviving a horrible motorcycle accident in 2008, Richard met his sweetheart, Annie Chapman. They were married March 6, 2009 and have been happily married since then. Together they enjoyed Harley rides, Lattes and their many sweet pets. Annie and her family took very good care of Richard in his later years as he endured many illnesses and complications. His daughter is very thankful for them. The family would also like to express their gratitude to his Hospice nurse, Michelle, for her attentive care.

Rich was an excellent carpenter and spent his career in the construction industry working for Seiko and Chrisitiansen Brothers. He retired from the city of Salt Lake as a building inspector after more than 20 years of dedicated service.

Richard liked so many outdoor activities and excelled obsessively at almost everything he tried. In his younger years he loved to skydive and shoot trap with good friend, Jerry Donaldson. He was known to have barbeques in his back yard where some attendees would actually parachute in. He was an excellent skier for most of his life and then would often spend the summer months wind surfing, a sport in which he also became extremely skilled. He developed a passion for motorcycles and loved to ride his Harley Davidson. It was a very sad day when he

sold his bikes knowing that he would not be able to ride any longer. He had a soft spot for dogs and was rarely without a 4-legged companion, or two, or three.

It was Richard’s wish to be cremated and although he didn’t want a memorial service, his family would like to honor and remember him on Tuesday, June 11th, 3 p.m. at the Utah Veterans Cemetery & Memorial Park Chapel, 17111 South Camp Williams Road, Bluffdale, Utah 84065. All are welcome to attend.