John C. Nielsen, 77, of Kiel, passed away unexpectedly on Sunday evening, November 27, 2022.  John was born August 29, 1945, in Newark, New Jersey, to the late Howard and Margaret (Piersing) Nielsen.  He graduated from Palatine High School in Illinois in 1963.  John proudly served his country in the United States Army from November 1, 1965 until October 27, 1967.  During this time, he served 10 months in Vietnam with the 1 st Calvary Air Mobile Division, 2/19 Field Artillery and earned the rank of Sergeant.  On January 22, 1966, he married the former Marilyn Deering in Illinois. He was employed by Herbner TV, working in TV service and later worked for Motorola for 23 years as a mechanical engineer until his retirement.  John was a lifetime member of VFW Post 6707 in Kiel, where he served as past commander.  He was a member of Outdoors Inc., where he enjoyed scoring for the trap league.  John enjoyed amateur radio from the time he was a teenager until recently.  He also liked to spend time woodworking.

In addition to his wife, Marilyn, he is survived by his children, John Jr. (Kim) Nielsen and Julie (Bob) Mattingly; his grandchildren, Matthew Nielsen, Brian Nielsen, Zachary Coster (Fiance Mya), Emily Ernsperger, Thomas (Savanah) Coster, Katherine Coster, Grace Coster, Liesl Coster and Maxwell Mattingly; his great-grandchildren, Annily, Elijah, Alexander and one expected soon; his son-in-law, Dan Coster and his sister-in-law, Sandra Deering.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his daughter, Abby Coster, his brother and his sister.

A funeral service will be held on Monday, December 5, 2022 at 11:30 a.m., at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church (19214 County Hwy XX, Kiel) with Rev. Ted Olsen officiating. Visitation will be held at the church, on Monday, from 9:30 a.m. until 11:15 a.m.  Military honors will be conducted following the service by Kiel VFW Post 6707.  Burial will be in the church cemetery at a later date.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to the Kiel Police, EMT and Fire Departments for helping John during his time of need.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been established to be used for Zion Lutheran Church and Kiel VFW Post 6707.