David Roland Nielsen

1934 - 2018

David Roland Nielsen

Glendale, CA

June 30, 1934-July 19, 2018

David Roland Nielsen, 84, passed away in his home in Glendale, California after suffering from a long-term illness. Dave was born in Glendale, California in 1934. He grew up in Burbank and graduated from Burroughs High School in 1952. He graduated from UCLA with a BS in Business Administration in 1957, the same year that he married Carolyn Deovlet. Soon after the couple married, Dave went into the Army Reserves for six years.

Dave and Carolyn enjoyed 61 years of marriage. Their first home was in Claremont, CA, but the couple eventually settled in La Canada, where they raised their three daughters Andrea Bouton (Tom) from Clovis, CA, Jaena Barker (Trevor) from Williamsburg, VA and Dorey Huston (Greg) from Glendale, CA. His greatest pride was his seven grandchildren: Davis, Natalie, Christian, Mary, Grayson, Trent and Lyla.

Dave's executive career in corporate finance began at de Pont, Glore, Foregan, Inc. where he was VP of Corporate Finance. He also in worked in finance for Paine, Webber, Jackson & Curtis and Crowell, Weeden & Co. In 1975, he moved onto Decade Corporation/Agman, where he served as President and CEO for over a decade. He also served as CFO for United Foam Corporation and Paramount Petroleum Corporation. In 1989, Dave moved to The Seidler Companies, where he worked as Managing Director, Investment Banking until his retirement.

After 30 years in La Canada, Dave and Carolyn moved to Camarillo where they spent almost 20 years enjoying their retirement. The couple had recently moved back to Glendale to be near family.

Dave was an active member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity, Master Gardeners, The Jonathon Club and its yacht club for many years. The family spent countless weekends boating in Southern California, he truly loved the sea. His other passions included reading the Wall Street Journal, end-to-end, every day, mystery novels and his garden.

As a child, Dave attended YMCA's Camp Fox on Catalina Island every summer. It was one of the happiest memories of his childhood. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the YMCA's endowment fund for camp scholarships to help bring the same joy to those less fortunate. If you would like to contribute in Dave's memory, please make your donation out to YMCA of the Foothills and mail to: Joanne Pingry/ YMCA of the Foothills, 1930 Foothill Blvd., La Canada, CA 91011. Please note "In memory of David Nielsen" in your donation.