Meeker, Obituaries

Obituary: Grant Nielsen

Grant Nielsen
Grant Nielsen
: Grant Ericksen Nielsen was born in Mount Pleasant, Utah, on July 29, 1923, the fourth of five children of Soren M. Nielsen and Florence Ericksen Nielsen. “The favorite,” as his siblings called him, he was a husband, father, rancher and stockman. Rarely was a photo taken of Grant that he would be without a horse or a dog. His love for livestock stemmed at a young age as stories are told of his falling ill while on vacation because he was homesick for his mustang pony, Peanuts.
Grant lived in Mount Pleasant and spent his summers herding sheep on the mountain — a perfect job for him because he could spend hours on his horse. Once time he rode for 36 hours. He came off the mountain to pick up his girlfriend and join his friends for a ride back up the mountain. Then he rode back down the mountain in order to return his girlfriend and head back on the mountain to tend to the sheep again. That was his idea of a perfect time.
He married Verna Aiken on Dec. 23, 1942. Larry, Wayne, DeLayne, Craig, Ruth and Scott were all born of this union. Early in their marriage, Grant spent some time in the Army stationed in Montana. He then returned to Mount Pleasant and continued to work on the Nielsen family sheep ranch until the late 40s when the family sold the sheep and replaced them with cattle. In 1950, the Nielsen family moved to Meeker, Colo. They bought the TI ranch on the Mesa and the J Quarter Circle Ranch up the White River Valley near Marvine and continued the cattle business. This same year he became branch president of the LDS church. Grant and the family sustained this successful cattle business running the Hereford cattle between his mesa property in the winter and in the summer on the upriver ranch.
His presence in the LDS Church continued as he was called to be the Second Counselor in the Meeker Branch Presidency, First Counselor in 1957 and Branch President for the second time in 1959. Grant was ordained a High Priest on April 14, 1963 and became the first Bishop of the Meeker Ward. Along with his full time ranch and involvement in his church he was assigned to be the Agriculture Representative on the Craig Stake Welfare Committee, acted as director of the Soil Conservation Organization, and was secretary of the Irrigation Company.
Grant then married Pia Bjerregaard on March 7, 1967, in Denmark. The couple raised Ann Marie, Alan and Kent on the Mesa Ranch. The family enjoyed ranch life. Grant also had a love of hunting and fishing and passed this on to all his children and grandchildren. Grant was an excellent shot and taught all his kids how to safely shoot firearms and enjoy the sport.
In the mid-80s Grant, Gus Halandras and Marv Brown sat around a table throwing around some ideas leading to which is now the world famous Meeker Classic Championship Sheepdog Trials. He spent many years on the board of directors, countless hours building fence, sorting and setting sheep and soon became an icon that the handlers expected to see. Once again Grant returned to those enjoyable hours spent in the saddle on his horse with a Border Collie at his side until his health prevented him from doing what he loved.
On Sept. 29, 1990, Grant married Betty A. Goodwin. Both of them contributed many hours to the Meeker Classic. During this time Grant also worked on the Grady Ranch and Marv and Lou Brown Ranch in Montana. Grant and Betty did a lot of traveling together and enjoyed seeing the sights of the West as well as visiting friends and family on their travels. They spent several winters residing in Boulder City, Nevada.
Grant died March 9, 2013, at the Colorado State Veteran’s Home in Rifle, Colo., at the age of 89. He is survived by his wife, Betty Nielsen, his children Larry Nielsen, Wayne (Kathy) Nielsen, DeLayne Nielsen, Craig (Trudy) Nielsen, Ruth (Dennis) Koenig, Scott (Nettie) Nielsen, Ann Marie Scritchfield, Alan (Becca) Nielsen and Kent (Marci) Nielsen; 36 grandchildren; 52 great grandchildren; and one great, great grandson. He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers Don and Howard Nielsen, sisters Florence Petersen and Marj Beck, daughter-in-law Judy Nielsen, son-in-law Gene Scritchfield, grandson-in-law Joe Malouff and granddaughter Kandi Koenig.
Funeral services will be Friday, March 14, 2013, at 10 a.m. at the Meeker LDS Church.

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  • It’s getting late, do you know where your kids are? Read all the Rio Happenings for this week in print or online at ht1885.com.
  • Mormon crickets have hatched near Rangely. They were all sighted on BLM land north of Hwy. 64 near the junction of CR 96 and CR 1, down a dirt road near the Moffat County line.  The picture shown was taken yesterday by Mary Meinen from Rangely. She says the crickets are about the size of a ladybug (less than 1/2”). Some of them are actually yellow in color but most of them are darker. They are milling around and getting ready to start moving soon. Note: Photo is not to scale.
Rio Blanco County and the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts are still asking for your help to identify additional hatch-outs of crickets so that control efforts can be put in place. The success of the program will highly depend upon local landowners and the public helping to locate crickets as soon as they hatch.  See last week’s paper for a list of ways to help or contact the County Weed & Pest District at 970-878-9670 or the Conservation District office at 970-878-9838 with any questions. Website: www.WhiteRiverCD.com
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It's that time again! Another edition of great local news stories is 
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We appreciate all your continued support!
It's that time again! Another edition of great local news stories is 🐰 Hopping 🐰 your way this morning! Catch up on everything thats 🐣 hatching 🐣 in Rio Blanco County this week. Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! We appreciate all your continued support!
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Rio Blanco County and the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts are still asking for your help to identify additional hatch-outs of crickets so that control efforts can be put in place. The success of the program will highly depend upon local landowners and the public helping to locate crickets as soon as they hatch.  See last week’s paper for a list of ways to help or contact the County Weed & Pest District at 970-878-9670 or the Conservation District office at 970-878-9838 with any questions. Website: www.WhiteRiverCD.com
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A crew from the Flat Tops Chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation joined forces last summer to remove obsolete fences to improve habitat for wildlife. Read the full story and the foundation’s update from their 30th Anniversary meeting in this week’s edition and online at ht1885.com.
A crew from the Flat Tops Chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation joined forces last summer to remove obsolete fences to improve habitat for wildlife. Read the full story and the foundation’s update from their 30th Anniversary meeting in this week’s edition and online at ht1885.com.
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