Obituary of Larry Nielson

Larry James Nielson of Camrose, Alberta, passed away on Saturday, July 29, 2017 at the age of 67 years. Larry was born in Camrose, Alberta in 1950. He spent his years as a young teen raising his younger brother and sister, twins Kevin and Karen, after his father passed away and his mother had to go back into the workforce. This set the caring, giving, compassionate nature Larry would carry throughout his life. He stayed in the Camrose area starting out his career as a heavy duty mechanic and eventually ending up at Battle River Implements as Supporting Products Manager. He spent a few years in Ohaton on an acreage, where he enjoyed spending time with his girls, Leandra and Erin, breaking horses, trying his hand at gardening (he grew the best corn!) and even dabbled in farming. He met his wife Gail in 1988, at the Windsor, of all places. His favorite past time was trying to put a smile on her face by teasing her incessantly; he was the ying to her yang. He accepted Gail's children Jamie and Kim as his son and daughter unconditionally. They moved into Camrose where they had lots of friends and family and he enjoyed spending time in his garage puttering and entertaining the ever present guests who would pop in and have a cold one. In addition to work and family, he loved racing stock cars, playing pool, cooking, camping (first in the clampet-mobile and then later at their cottage at Elinor Lake), hunting and his all time favorite, fishing. Larry truly was a teacher of Life; from taking all the kids out fishing, making sure they caught one and got a picture of their prize, to mentoring people at work. As his main focus was making sure everyone felt welcome and were well looked after; he never let you leave the table hungry, and you were always sure to get some of his famous pickles. He was a lover of animals, especially his yorkies Izzy and Reese. He was a story-teller and he had wisdom that made you wonder if there was anything he didn't know. He had the BEST fish fries and the coffee was always on at the lake, as his deck was a popular gathering place. He had a contagious laugh a crinkly smile and he had a love for his grand-daughters, Jayden and Delayna that was unshakeable. He had patience and strength that made you want to be a better person. Larry really was one of a kind, an amazing husband, father, grandfather, brother, and friend. The ripples of his life will live on through all the lives he touched. Left to cherish his memory are his wife Gail; children Leandra (Shawn) Brezinski of Stony Plain, Erin (Jamie) Kalynuk of Beaumont, Jamie (Jody) Bell of Sherwood Park, and Kim (Trevor) Dyer of Camrose; two grandchildren; brothers Dennis (Lynne) of New Norway, and Kevin (Nancy) of Camrose; sister Karen (Norman) Knull of Camrose; and son-in-law Layne Brezinski. Larry was predeceased by his parents Oscar and Elsie Nielson; and brother Don. We will miss you Lar. A funeral service was held at 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, August 8, 2017 from the CityLights Church with Rev. Bill Harder officiating. If family and friends so desire, memorial contributions are gratefully accepted to the Cystic Fibrosis Canada or to the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation.