Claudia Marion Nielsen

1919 - 2016

Essex - Claudia Marion (Poulnot) Nielsen was born Oct. 15, 1919, in Jacksonville, Fla., and died on Dec. 23, 2016, in Essex.

Born to Claude and Sara Poulnot, she was the youngest of their three daughters. She came from a family which had settled in Charlestown, S.C. in the late 1600s and was proud to share the stories that her grandfather told her of his participation in the Battle of Gettysburg and other Civil War actions on the side of the Confederacy. Claudia became a medical record librarian and was working in Jacksonville when she met Dr. Tage Nielsen in 1940. He was the ship's doctor on the Danish square rigger, Danmark. The ship was visiting Florida when Germany invaded Denmark during World War II. Granted political asylum in the United States, the ship was then moved to New London to be used by the U.S. Coast Guard Academy as a training ship for cadets for the rest of the war.

After a whirlwind romance, Claudia and Tage were married in December 1941 and followed the ship to New London where they settled and raised their family. Claudia was involved in many volunteer activities including Child and Family Agency, Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, and the St. James Church Altar Guild. She was recently honored as a founding member of the Thames Garden Club. She won many awards for her artistic flower arranging and became a flower show judge. She and her husband were active sailors and skiers and cruised the world in their free time. On retirement, they sold their home and moved onto an Irwin 42 foot sailboat in the Virgin Islands where they made many friends and had many adventures.

They then moved back to New London where they lived at the Harbor House so Claudia could see "my river" the Thames from her living room. Claudia eventually moved into Essex Meadows where she was a valued player on their trivia team, established a poker group, and learned to play pool. She was a lifelong lover of learning, had a great sense of humor, and was always ready for a party.

She is survived by her four children, Marna Blanchette of Bethesda, Md., Phoebe Cottrell of Simonstown, South Africa, Daphne Nielsen (Henry Resnikoff) of Essex, and Peter Nielsen of Chelsea, Mass.; as well as nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren; as well as multiple nieces and nephews.

She was predeceased by her husband, Dr. Tage Nielsen, and her two sisters, Elizabeth and Alice.

Her family would like to thank the devoted staff at Essex Meadows Health Center for their excellent care.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to Child and Family Agency of Southeast Connecticut or to the Essex Meadows Employee Appreciation Fund.

A celebration of her life will be held at a later date.

To share a memory of Claudia or send a condolence to her family, please visit www.rwwfh.com

Arrangements are by the Robinson, Wright & Weymer Funeral Home in Centerbrook.