Stephen Walter Nielsen

Stephen Walter Nielsen went home to be with the Lord on October 20, 2014, at the age of 68.  He will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.  Steve is survived by his wife of 48 years, Peggy, son Stephen and his wife Sheila; daughter Sharon and her husband Ben; and five grandchildren: Gabby, Elijah, Greta, Levi and Luke; also his siblings: Randy, Kim and Janet.  Steve is preceded in death by his parents William Arthur Nielsen and Evelyn Bertha Nielsen.

Steve was born in Arkansas City, Kansas, but permanently moved to Seattle as an infant, eventually graduating from Evergreen High School in 1964.  In fact, he recently attended his 50-year class reunion.  On July 21, 1964 he met the love of his life, Peggy Kulle.  The two fell in love at first sight at Croft Rentals where Steve worked from 1961 to 1965.  He built, painted, rented trailers and maintained the rental trucks there.  He helped build the new shop and office building for Croft.  Gatewood Baptist Church was instrumental in Steve's life beginning at this time.  He accepted Christ as his personal Savior on October 4th, 1964. In November of 1965, he was drafted into the US Army, where he received his basic training at Fort Ord in the Monterey Bay area of CA.  He was then stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, CO from Nov. 1965 thru mid-July 1966.  Steve and Peggy were married on July 22, 1966 at Gatewood Baptist Church in West Seattle.  This was just four weeks prior to Steve's deployment to South Vietnam where he was assigned to the 609 Transportation Company as a wheeled-vehicle mechanic in the US Army from August 1966 to August 1967.  A week-long leave in Honolulu, HI, to be with his new bride, Peggy, was a welcomed respite from war in February of 1967.

Upon receiving his honorable discharge, Steve returned to work at Croft Trailers while he and Peggy settled into a cozy apartment in West Seattle before purchasing their first small home six months later.  He then joined the speciality gas company, Cryogenics Northwest in November of 1970, where he started out as a driver and worked his way up to General Manager.  They joyfully welcomed their son, Stephen David on April 16,1971, which happened to be the birthday of Steve's dad, Art.  Steve provided for his newly expanding family with integrity and incredible work ethic.  In 1972 he built the family's permanent home while continuing full time employment at Cryogenics.  They moved into their beautiful, new home in November of 1972.  Their daughter, Sharon Ruth, completed their family on September 30, 1974, which happened to be the birthday of Peggy's dad, Carlton.  They have lived in that home, built with love and skill, ever since.

While working at Cryogenics, Steve followed his passion of auto body repair, building his own shop, Fantastic Finishes, starting in July of 1985.  This was an exciting adventure for Steve; something he loved to do.  After Fantastic Finishes was fully operational, he left Cryogenics and went to work for Byrne Speciality Gases as a Customer Service and Engineered Systems Manager in December of 1987.  A tough economy forced the very difficult decision to close Fantastic Finishes in 1989.  After Byrne, he began work at Rotary Offset Press in August of 1996, as a truck driver and traffic manager. He then went to work for Conway Trucking Co., in July 2002, where he was a line-haul driver, a driver trainer, and was nominated for America's Road Team.  He also competed in the Washington Truck Driving Championship where he was awarded Rookie of the Year in June of 2004.  He began work at Becker Trucking in November 2010, as a line-haul driver until his retirement on Dec. 31, 2013.

Steve was a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle and son.  He was also a beloved and faithful friend to many.  Steve was a gentle, gracious man, with an infectious smile and caring spirit, who always made people feel welcomed.  He was selfless; a true family man who gave of his time to help any friend in need.  Steve's passion was classic cars.  He loved to scout, restore and drive cars, as well as watching them race on television...a lifelong NASCAR fan! He also enjoyed building and repairing homes and equipment.  Steve was gifted with his hands and was a truly creative problem solver.  He used these immense God given talents to help others on so many occasions.

Most of all, Steve loved Jesus! He embodied the Joy of the Lord.  His favorite hymn, "Now I Belong to Jesus," had special significance in his life and will be sung at his Celebration of Life service, Tuesday, October 28th at 2pm at Highline Christian Church in Burien, WA, where he was a faithful member and volunteer.

As a family, we take comfort in Steve's favorite Bible passage, which he memorized and recited at his baptism on October 11,1964:

John 14:106 (KJV)

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.  In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.  And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.  Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Remembrances may be made to Highline Christian Church.