Obituary: NIELSON, VEIGH

Veigh Jensen Nielson1921 ~ 2013Veigh Jensen Nielson passed away peacefully Saturday, May 18 at 10:07 p.m. in his Salt Lake City home to be reunited with his sweetheart, Janet. He was born to Waldemar W. and Beatrice Jensen Nielson in Whitney, Idaho on February 1, 1921.Veigh and Janet married in 1949 in the Salt Lake Temple. Veigh's employment with Arabian-American Oil Company (ARAMCO) took the newlyweds to San Francisco and New York during their early years of marriage. In 1952, Veigh moved his young family from New York to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, for a successful and rewarding 32-year career as a manager and executive leader with Phillips Petroleum Company. Service in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has characterized Veigh's life. He served for nearly 20 years in the stake presidency of the Tulsa, Oklahoma Stake. He later served as Regional Representative over the Oklahoma, Missouri, and West Texas regions. After Veigh retired from Phillips, Veigh and Janet compassionately served in the LDS England Coventry Mission as Mission President to the British people and to many missionaries who became like sons and daughters to them. A few years later, after settling in Salt Lake, Veigh and Janet shared their great love of the eternity of families as they served together as Temple President and Matron in Dallas, Texas. What mattered most to Veigh during his life were his family, his testimony of the gospel, and finding ways to serve others. His church service gave him ample opportunities to provide counsel to those struggling with problems, to provide guidance to young men and women as they looked toward their futures, and to share his testimony of Jesus Christ, the eternal value of families, and the importance of missionary and temple work. Veigh loved his country, serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He remained interested and involved in politics until his last years. He was able to share this love of country as he served in positions of leadership in the Boy Scouts of America. For this service he was awarded the Silver Beaver.Education was important to Veigh. He attended the University of Utah and Harvard Business School. He helped his own children to earn college degrees, and encouraged other young people to do the same. In his later years he helped international students to gain college educations in the United States via the BYU Cardon International Scholarship program. As a result, his influence is felt globally.As his children, we will miss Dad for his great love for us. We will miss his teasing and his puns (often groan-worthy). We will miss his great example of devotion to eternal principles, his gentlemanly manners, and the devoted, loving father he was to each of us.He is preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Janet, his brother, Kay, and his sister, Beth (Renshaw). He will be greatly missed by his children Dina (Randy) Wyatt, Kathy Richardson, Veigh (Marilyn), Henry (Diane), David, Jan (Andy) Christensen as well as his 19 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be Tuesday, May 28, 12 noon, at the Eagle Gate Stake Center, 135 A Street. Friends may call Monday, May 27, 6-8:30 p.m., at Larkin Mortuary, 260 East South Temple, and Tuesday, 10:30-11:30 a.m., at the Stake Center. Interment at Salt Lake City Cemetery. Online condolences at larkinmortuary.com