Peter Anthony Nielsen

Peter Anthony Nielsen, beloved husband, father and grandfather passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by his wife and son on February 28, 2026 after a long and hard-fought battle with COPD.

He was born on August 10, 1951, in Denver Colorado to the late Richard and Caroline Nielsen. He attended Cathedral High School before enrolling at the Colorado School of Mines. Upon graduating he worked as a mining engineer for North American Coal Corporation. He married Carole Anne Collins of Denver in 1981. They welcomed their son, John, in 1982.

Pete’s work took them from North Dakota to Louisiana. He spent his entire career working for North American Coal before finishing his career of 43 years in Texas in 2016. He enjoyed hunting, fishing and camping and shared that love with his son from an early age. He was an avid reader his entire adult life. An engineer at heart, there wasn’t anything he could not fix, build or design. He was known to tinker in the garage for hours and was always doing little home projects for Carole. In recent years, his most cherished time was spent traveling with Carole to see their two grandsons where he was known as Papa Pete.

Pete is survived by his wife of 44 years, Carole, their son John and his wife Amanda, his grandsons Benjamin and Cameron, his brother Rick Nielsen of Parker, Colorado and Teri Aaron of West Pensacola, Florida.

Retired Father James Fox will offer a small, private rosary and mass at Horan and McConaty before he is laid to rest at Mount Olivet in Golden, Colorado.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in his memory to the Rocky Mountain Mining Institute located at 3900 S Wadsworth Blvd Suite 365, Lakewood, CO 80235; an organization where he served as President, Committee Chair and Board member for many years.

Rocky Mountain Mining Institute

We would like to thank Brighton Hospice for the wonderful care they gave to Pete in his final days and the comfort shown to us.