William Kent "Bill" Nielson

WILLIAM KENT "BILL" NIELSON Funeral services for longtime Dolores resident William Kent "Bill" Nielson will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, January 14 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Road M Chapel. Interment will follow at Cortez Cemetery. Visitation has been scheduled for Friday evening from 5 to 7 p.m. at Ertel Memorial Chapel. There will be a viewing on Saturday morning beginning at 8:30 a.m. at the church. William Kent Nielson known as "Bill" was born on January 20, 1926 in Blanding, Utah. Bill, then known as Kent, was the seventh of nine children. Bill attended his first 5 years of school in Monticello, Utah. He attended 6th grade in Dolores and grades 7-10 in McPhee. He then attended the 11th grade in Dolores and graduated from Moab High School in 1943. From 1944-1946 Bill served in the Army and was stationed in Camp Robinson in Littlerock, Ark. He reached the rank of Sergeant. While serving there he met the love of his life, May Gean Fox. On June 16, 1946 Bill and Gean were married in Aztec, N.M. Bill and Gean had four children, Gary, Judy, Diane and Kent and had 16 grandchildren, 37 great-grandchildren, and 10 great-great-grandchildren. Bill was best known for his owning and operating Nielson's Incorporated, and he was one of the founders of Dolores State Bank and served on the bank board for 50 years. Bill passed away on Thursday, January 5, 2017 in Cortez.