Al "Moose" Nielsen

Al “Moose” Nielsen, 76, of Sunburg, died Thursday, August 27th at St Cloud Hospital. His memorial service will be at 1:00 pm, Tuesday, September 1st at Harvey Anderson & Johnson Funeral Home in Willmar. Visitation will be one hour prior to his service. www.hafh.org 

Elrey “Al” “Moose” Nielsen was born May 15, 1950, to Newell and Eunice (Tovaas) Nielsen in Willmar. He was baptized and later confirmed at Eagle Lake Lutheran Church near Willmar. Al attended school in Willmar and graduated with the Class of 1968. He continued his education at Willmar Vo-Tech, where he studied mechanical drafting.

On June 26, 1969, Al was united in marriage to Donna Sjoberg. Following their marriage, they made their home in Willmar, where Al began his working career. He worked for Liebl Trucking and Wick Homes Construction before starting his own construction company with his brother, Daryl, and their friend, Steve Quimby. Quimby and Nielsen Construction specialized in carpentry and masonry, and Al took great pride in his work.

Al and Donna eventually moved to Sunburg, where they made their home for the next 30 years. Al was an avid outdoorsman who especially enjoyed hunting and fishing. Over the years, he took many memorable hunting trips to Wyoming, Montana, and Colorado and enjoyed fishing trips to Lake of the Woods.

Family was especially important to Al. He loved watching his grandchildren and great-grandchildren participate in their activities and was always proud to be there to support them. He also took great pride in his yard and was known for keeping it immaculate, he would have mowed it every day if he could!

Al was the kind of person who could fix just about anything. He was always willing to lend a hand and would take the shirt off his back to help someone in need. His generosity, hardworking nature, sense of humor, and willingness to help others made him someone people could always count on.

Above all, Al was a loving husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. 

Al is survived by his wife, Donna; daughter, Melissa (David) Frieze; daughter-in-law, Shannin Nielsen; grandchildren: Anthony (Melissa) Nielsen, Kylie Oeltjenbruns, Chase Frieze, and Mariah Peveto; great-grandchildren: Taytan, Brayden, Brody, Zembri, Odin, Brylee, Ella, Asher, Braylen, Teegan, Freya and Bentley. 

He was preceded in death by his parent’s Newell and Eunice, Nielsen son, Troy Nielsen and sister, Karen Nielsen.

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