Carl Kent Nielsen

Carl was born in Rawlins, Wyoming and grew up in Billings, Montana with parents Elmer and Edna and brother Ben. He graduated with a degree in Geology from the University of Wyoming, where he met his future wife, Ellen. 

Carl joined the Navy in 1957 and served for two years, primarily in the South Pacific, where he witnessed 26 atomic tests and conducted scientific surveys of the impacts. 

Carl and Ellen were married in 1959 and spent time on the Oregon Coast, where he taught high school math in Taft, Oregon. He and Ellen then moved to Glendive, Montana, where daughter Kristen was born. Missing the West Coast, Carl took a job with Northwest Natural Gas in Portland, Oregon, where he worked in various capacities until he retired. Daughter Julia was born in Portland and apart from a few years in Salem, Carl and Ellen lived in Portland until they moved to Seattle in 2023. 

Two of Carl’s boyhood dreams were to sail the South Pacific and to view charismatic megafauna on safari in Africa, and he did both the year he retired. Some of his many other adventures included hiking Machu Picchu, bicycling in Spain, seeing England, Wales and France by canal boat, traveling home from Colombia via banana boat, sailing across Scotland via Loch Ness, and crewing on a motor yacht along the West Coast and up into Alaska. His love of sailing began with a dinghy on the Willamette River and as he graduated to larger boats, always christened Ondine, he and Ellen became active member of Rose City Yacht Club, where they made lifelong friends. He served as Commodore in 1997, and enjoyed many years of sailing, working on projects, and socializing. 

He was a dedicated volunteer at The Nature Conservancy, where he was named Volunteer of the Year in 2008. He also volunteered with Oregon Public Broadcasting and the Northeast Community Center. For many years, he and Ellen were known around their neighborhood for walking a succession of Old English Sheepdogs, for helping to organize the annual block party, and for the mysterious tower on their garage roof, which supported a ham radio antenna. Carl was active in the amateur radio community as W7SVF, and later K7CN, sending and receiving transmissions and postcards from around the world. He built many of his own radios and was pleased to pass them on to others in the community after he was no longer active. He was also an active member of the East Portland Rotary Club. 

In 2023, he and Ellen moved to Seattle to be close to their daughters. Carl is survived by daughters Kristen (Dean) and Julia (Michael), his brother Ben (Jo Ann), and his nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife Ellen Elizabeth, who died in February, 2024. Friends who would like to donate in his memory might consider The Nature Conservancy or the Oregon Humane Society.