William R. Nielsen, Jr

William Raymond Nielsen, Jr. December 9, 1924 a€" March 8, 2008

SOUTH OGDEN a€" William Raymond "Ray" Nielsen, Jr., loving and beloved husband of Helen Deane Waltemeyer Nielsen and father of William "Bill" Raymond Nielsen, III, and Denise McHale, died peacefully, at the age of 83, in the loving arms of his family after a very long and courageous struggle with prostate cancer. Ray, the son of Annie Emma Pieper Nielsen and William Raymond Nielsen, Sr., was born in Rexburg, Idaho. Ray lost his mother at a very young age and was raised by his Pieper grandparents in Rexburg. Ray has many cherished relatives living in Idaho still.

In 1942, Ray joined the U.S. Army Air Force and served as a pilot in the CBI (China, Burma, India) theatre. At the end of WWII, he flew the first rescue plane into Japanese held prison camps bringing in doctors and nurses to care for American prisoners of war and returned sick American soldiers, many of whom had been forced to build the infamous Bridge on the River Kwai, back to an American base.

Ray married Elva Hale in Butte, Montana on September 3, 1947. They raised three children together. Ray was preceded in death by his parents, William and Annie Nielsen; his first wife, Elva Hale Nielsen on May 26, 1986; his daughter, Dianne Nielsen, in December of 1975; his granddaughter, Tara Leigh Nielsen, in August of 2007; and his brother, Charles Allen Nielsen.

Ray worked at Monroe Business Machines in Ogden, Utah for 40 years and retired in 1988.

He was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where he held many offices.

He was a talented handyman and could fix and build just about anything. Along with his wife, Helen, Ray did extensive remodeling in their beautiful home.

Ray greatly enjoyed learning the art of fly fishing at a Reel Recovery Cancer Retreat.

Shortly before his retirement, Ray married Helen Deane Waltemeyer Hadley, a lifelong friend, on a cliff overlooking the ocean at Carmel By the Sea, California. They were greatly blessed with twenty happy years together and enjoyed many wonderful trips and adventures, including RV excursions with old friends, a safari to Kenya in 2001, many Caribbean Island cruises, and memorable journeys to Alaska, Hawaii, and England.

Ray had a lifelong love for vintage airplanes of the WWII era, especially the C-47, which he flew during WWII. Ray and Helen enjoyed many trips to aircraft museums throughout the United States and in England. In his latter years, Ray built numerous quarter scale model airplanes and joined the NURCAC (Northern Utah Radio Controlled Airplane Club), a local flying club. In the company of close friends, Ray spent many happy hours flying his radio-controlled planes.

Ray was a very special, loving man and will be deeply missed by all who knew him. Ray is survived by his dearly loved and devoted wife, Helen Nielsen; his son, Bill (Birdee) Nielsen, Ogden; his daughter, Denise McHale, Ogden; his three step-children including David (Cheryl) Hadley, Woodinville, WA; Carol (Robin) Reinhard, Corvallis, OR; Derryl (Michael Woody) Hadley, San Diego, CA; his seven adoring grandchildren: Vanessa Eve Nielsen, Jennifer Rae (Brendan) Cook, Jaclyn Leigh McHale, Michael Bryant Hadley, Katherine Marie Hadley, Jennifer Lynn Renhard, and Travis Justin Reinhard. Damien Reigh Nielsen-Quintana and Gavin William Cook are Ray''s great-grandchildren.

Ray is also survived by his siblings, Stanley Roland (Toshie) Nielsen; Marleen (Clay) Perschon; Donald (Hisayo) Nielsen; Sue (Russ) Thomas; Linda (Joe) Rice; Nancy (Reed) Young; and many treasured nieces and nephews.

The Nielsen family extends their deep gratitude to Dr. Regina Klein, Nancy, Lisa, Jill and to all members at Utah Cancer Specialists for their loving care.

Funeral services will be held Thursday, March 13th at 1 p.m. at Lindquist''s Ogden Mortuary, 3408 Washington Blvd.

Friends may call at the mortuary on Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. and Thursday 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.

Interment, Ogden City Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to PCRI (Prostate Cancer Research Institute) 5777 W. Century Blvd., Suite 800; Los Angeles, CA 90045.

Email condolences to the family at: www.lindquistmortuary.com