Obituary of Vagn Bak Nielsen

Vagn Bak Nielsen September 7, 1928 - August 18, 2024 Dad, Grandpa, Papa, Pappa, Pops, Hagar, Vagn… it didn’t matter what you called our Dad, he answered to all of them. Vagn Bak Nielsen came into this world on September 7, 1928, in Ponoka, Alberta, the only one of his family born in Canada, at that time. Dad’s parents and five siblings emigrated from Denmark – Grandpa Aage Nielsen came first, then his oldest two children, daughters Esther and Gerde, and Grandma Anna Abigael Pedersen Bak Nielsen and the younger three children, Sven, Eva and Signe followed last. When Vagn was very young, the family moved to a homestead just outside Bonnyville, Alberta, and it was there that he grew up and attended school, leaving at the age of 14 to go to work. He worked at horse logging, winter fishing on Cold Lake, and whatever odd jobs he could find, but his real interest was in mechanics. Every chance he got, he was tinkering with machinery and motorized vehicles. He bought his first sawmill, a small mill built on skids, when he was 16 and always said he was ‘self employed’ ever since. At about 18 or 19 years old, he and a friend headed for British Columbia, because they’d heard there were good wages to be made in logging in the Cariboo region. They worked for a number of different ‘gyppo’ logging outfits between Prince George and Lac La Hache, and Vagn eventually settled on Quesnel. He bought his groceries at a little store in West Quesnel, called Floyd’s Store, and the storekeeper’s sister, Marion, caught his eye. Marion, her older brother, Doug, youngest sister, Audrey, and their parents had moved from the Meadow Lake area in northern Saskatchewan, to Quesnel a year or two earlier, to live closer to Marion’s older brother, Richard (Dick) and his wife and young son. Vagn and Marion courted for a few months, and then he asked her father, Harold Floyd, for her hand. Marion’s brother, Doug, piped up and said, “Only if you take the rest of her, too!” Vagn and Marion married on his parents’ anniversary (and Pearl Harbor Day), December 7, 1952, at the United Church in Quesnel.

Vagn had a long history in the logging industry in Quesnel. A year or so after he and Marion were married, in about 1954, he formed a partnership with George Chadsey, and the two of them operated Bluestone Sawmill, just off the Nazko Highway, close to what is now Sylvia’s Cafe. By 1958, the small sawmill operations were becoming a thing of the past, and when fire leveled the Bluestone Sawmill, Vagn and George decided to dissolve their partnership, with George essentially buying Vagn out and keeping all of the machinery and equipment. Part of Vagn’s payout was the four lots at the end of Norwood Road, where he and Marion built their family home without ever holding a mortgage. They built that house one personal loan at a time, over several years, and they raised their five children there. The biggest push to end the partnership and move to Bouchie Lake was eldest daughter, Caroline, needing to start school in the fall of 1959. By then, Vagn was working for Patchett’s Sawmills, first at the mill in Quesnel, as a millwright, saw filer, mechanic, and lead hand, and later as their mill manager at their mill near Bowron Lake. Vagn joined Garner Brother’s Logging in the mid 1960’s, as their shop foreman and head mechanic. It wasn’t too long after he joined the company that one of the Partners, Al Garner, decided he wanted to retire and he and the other two partners approached Vagn with the idea of him buying Al’s shares, on payroll deductions. After talking it over with Marion, Vagn accepted the offer and became the third partner in the operation. He stayed with Garner’s until his retirement in 1988.

Vagn and Marion started indulging their love of traveling, spending a month or two each winter in a different place in Mexico. Eventually, they settled on Cabo San Lucas as their destination of choice, and they bought a Big Foot Camper to put on the truck, driving to Cabo in early to mid October and returning in late March to early April. Their departure and return dates were flexible but constrained by Canadian residency laws – 6 months less a day out of the country and no more, to retain Canadian benefits. Vagn spent the winter fishing and canning his catch, and Marion spent the winter baking and selling her famous bread for fellow RV’ers in the park. After a few years, the Big Foot Camper went into storage, and they bought a larger 5th wheel trailer, subdivided the property at Bouchie Lake, built a summer ‘home base’ for their 5th wheel, and sold the family home to their second daughter, Sharon (John) Chow. They became permanent RV’ers. I know Marion felt like she’d moved from a tiny house into a mansion, going from the 12-foot camper to the 5th wheel! Just a few months after returning from Mexico, in 1998, Marion was diagnosed with colon cancer. They did not return to Mexico that winter, while Marion fought the cancer that took her life in May of 1999. She passed away just before her 65th birthday and Vagn was left alone. Before she died, Marion insisted that Vagn promise her three things: first to go back to Mexico, because she knew how much he loved it there; second to not sell anything for a year, to give him time to decide what he really wanted to do; and third to start looking for a new woman, because she didn’t believe he’d do well alone, and by-the-way, Marie is single. Marie Kivi was Marion’s best friend and had been her business partner, in their catering company, Holliday Caterers, in the 1970s. In early October, 1999 Vagn left for Mexico, taking Marie with him. They were married in 2004, and enjoyed their 18 years together, traveling extensively in Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, Europe, Africa and Asia, and one cross Canada road trip, going all the way to Newfoundland, before cancer also took Marie in September of 2017. Vagn always said he was blessed with the love of two wonderful women and their equally wonderful families. In addition to his love of family, he also had a lifelong love of mechanics, building things with his hands, gardening and fishing, not necessarily in that order. For the next few years, Vagn continued his winter travels, with his niece, Else Pedersen, as his travelling companion. Vagn and Else visited Denmark, Mexico, enjoyed a cruise through the Panama Canal, and in later years, a month or two in Osoyoos each winter.

Vagn’s final burst of creativity was to write his memoirs, “My Vagntastic Life” which is available on Amazon. He wrote it on his iPad tablet, using the ‘hunt and peck’, one finger typing method and finished it at the age of 93. On August 18th, at five minutes before 1:00 am, Vagn left this world and entered Valhalla. He was predeceased by his parents, Aage and Anna Nielsen, his brother Sven, his sisters Esther, Gerde, Eva, and Signe, his brothers-in-law David Floyd, Richard Floyd, and Doug Floyd, his sisters-in-law Frances Friesen, Alma Johnston, Joyce Cooper, and Audrey Lillienweiss his brother-in-law Ernest North, and his son-inlaw, Bob Heavenor. He is survived by his children, Caroline (Tom) Dillabough, Sharon (John) Chow, Doug (Barbara) Nielsen, Evelyn (Larry) Budiselich, and Signe Nielsen (Butch Moore), his step children, Wayne (Debbie) Kivi, Dianne Heavenor (Bob Norris), and Veda (Lyle) Hanna, grandchildren Aleda (Colin) Hochachka, Chris Chow, Kevin (Claire) Chow, Travis (Tanya) Nielsen, Tiffiny (Keith) Yaxley, Carrmen Kirsh, and Vagn Moore, as well as his step-grandchildren Ryan (Shawna) Heavenor, Rena (Collyn) Varnes, Brody (Sarah) Heavenor, Lauren Kivi, Kendra Kivi, and Chelsea Hanna. Vagn has numerous great grandchildren: Thomas, Vagn, and Alyssa Hochachka, Evalee Kivi, Audrey and Olivia Heavenor, Caleb, Magnus, Chase, and Ayrlee Varnes, and Marlow, Tilly, and Benjamin Heavenor. Vagn is also survived by his sisters-in-law from his first marriage, Dorothy May and Margaret Elvidge, and his brother-in-law John Smith, and sisters-in-law Margy Nadeau, Sharon Smith, Cheryl Brooks, Eileen Groves and Donna Bourque, and by nieces and nephews far too numerous to name here. All of Vagn’s extensive family would like to especially thank the residents of Dunrovin Park Lodge, Extended Care, for welcoming him into their community and making his last few months so happy. Thanks also to Dr. Grace Martins and the nurses, care aides and other staff members who provided such compassionate and exemplary care during Vagn’s time in Dunrovin. A Celebration of Vagn’s Life will take place at his son’s home, Doug and Barbara Nielsen, Milburn Lake Road, starting at 3:00 pm on September 7th, 2024, following cremation and a private interment in the Quesnel Cemetery.