John Merle Nielson

Asheville – John Merle Nielsen, 76, of Thistle Knoll Court, died unexpectedly, Tuesday, January 25, 2005. A native of Ogden, Utah, he was the son of the late John Peter and Mary Jones Nielsen and also was preceded in death by a son, Peter Nielsen and two grandchildren. Merle was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served a LDS Mission in Western Canada from 1948 until 1950. He was former director of the Asheville Stake Family History Center and a member of the High Priests Quorum. He earned a BS degree from Brigham Young University and a PHD from Purdue University and retired from General Electric in 1993 with 37 years of service as an organic chemist and a materials engineer, working mainly in Schenectady, NY and was a member of the American Chemical Society. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Christina M. Nielsen; two sons, John Nielsen and his wife, Laura, of Medina, Ohio, James Nielsen and his wife, Claudia, of Gilberts, Illinois; three daughters, Christina VanDerwerken and her husband, Michael, of Scotia, New York, Heather Hardy and her husband, Grant, of Asheville, Arla Wilding and her husband, James, of Scotia, New York and 20 grandchildren. A funeral service will be held at 3:00 pm Friday in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Interment will follow in Shepherd Memorial Park. His family will receive friends from 7:00 until 8:30 pm Thursday at Groce Funeral Home at Lake Julian and for one hour prior to the service Friday at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the LDS Humanitarian Services Fund, 15 E. South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84150.