John H. "Jack" Nielsen

RACINE - John H. 'Jack' Nielsen, Lt. Col. USAF (Ret.), 82, passed away on Thursday, April 20, 2006, at St. Mary's Medical Center. He was born to John and Dagmar (nee: Rasmussen) Nielsen in Racine on February 8, 1924. In 1946 he married Kathleen Rooney, who preceded him in death in March of 1993. On New Years Day, 1998, he married Dorothy 'Dot' Reischl. Jack was a kind and gentle man who loved playing mediocre golf, reciting doggerel verse and singing old songs. He proudly served in the United States Army Air Corps as a navigator in World War II, during which he flew 17 combat missions in the Philippines. Following the war, he served in the Air Force Reserve, retiring as a Lt. Colonel in 1968. He was a Civil Engineer and Land Surveyor, having founded the firm of John H. Nielsen & Associates (now Nielsen Madsen & Barber, S.C.) in 1954, from which he retired in 1989. He was active in his profession, having served as President of the Wisconsin Society of Land Surveyors, Founding Member and first President of the Wisconsin County Surveyors Assn., Chairman of the Land Surveyors Section of the Wisconsin Examining Board, Chairman of the State Transit Right of Way Authority, Life Member of the Am. Society of Civil Engineers and a Fellow of the Am. Congress on Surveying & Mapping. Jack was the Racine County Surveyor from 1971 until his retirement in 1989. He was also a proud member of the Sunday Morning Marchers golf group, the Democratic Party and the Eagles Nest. Jack's proudest accomplishment was his family. He is survived by his wife, Dot; his four sons, John (Mary), Dan (Jackie), Mark and Jim Nielsen; two daughters, Nikki (Tony) Rosati and Kris (Jeff) Peters; eight grandchildren, Emily, Andy, Stephanie and Maggie Nielsen, Jeremy and Brian Peters, and Robert and Nick Rosati. He is further survived by his sisters, and brother, Betty (the late Irv) Erickson, Ruth (Charles) Lee and Lloyd (Clare Ann) Nielsen all of Minnesota; his sisters- and brothers-in-law, Joan (the late Jim) Fox, Dick (Avis), Inez (the late Jack) and Jim (Nancy) Rooney. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 2023 Northwestern Avenue, on Monday, April 24, 2006, at 10 a.m. with Rev. Ronald Crewe officiating. Interment will be at Calvary Cemetery. There will be a visitation at the Hanson Funeral Home on Sunday afternoon from 3 until 5:30 p.m. and at the church on Monday from 9:30 a.m. until time of service at 10 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Sacred Heart Parish Capital Fund Drive; Wisconsin Parkinson Association, 945 North 12th Street, Suite 4602, Milwaukee, Wis. 53233; or a charity of your choice. HANSON FUNERAL HOME 3014 Northwestern Avenue 632-4479