Louis 'Louie' Charles Nielson, 56

Funeral services for Louis "Louie" Nielson, 56, of Sidney, will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 26, 2006, at the Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church. Interment will be in the Sidney Cemetery, under the direction of Fulkerson Funeral Home of Sidney.

Louis Charles Nielson was born Feb. 9, 1950, in South Gate, Calif., to Wilfred and Eileen (Terry) Nielson. Louie moved from Quartz Hill, Calif., with his parents and brother, Matt, to the Flathead area in 1969 where he lived for 25 years, working as a logger and trucker and collecting hordes of friends.

Louie married Sue Stairs, and they had a daughter together, Christy Lee. On Dec. 5, 1986, Louie married Cindy Haddad in Las Vegas. They had two daughters, Jennifer Rose and Hannah Louise. In 1994, Louie and his ladies moved from the Flathead area to Sidney, where he ultimately owned and operated Sidney Dry Cleaners and Laundry.

Louie was proud of his girls and of their many accomplishments. They were his pride and joy. He spent countless hours following them in their sports, drill team, and tap dancing.

With his wife, Cindy, and his friends, Donnie and Linda Byer, he coached at least 10 years of girls' summer softball teams, encouraging many "hapless" girls to do their best at every facet of the sport. There really was no cheerleader of girls' sports more enthusiastic than Louie.

In the area of men's sports, Louie was a die-hard Raiders football fan. No one escaped Louie's accurate, but optimistic, assessment of each year's Raiders team. Loyal to the core, Louie never abandoned the Silver and Black, no matter what their record. Louie was almost, but not quite, as passionate about fantasy football as he was about his Raiders.

Outside of sports, Louie loved fishing and boating. With his friends and family, Louie solved a lot of the world's problems on some calm body of water, patiently waiting to bait the big one and at one time catching a trophy walleye that he proudly displayed at work. Many of his and his family's friends benefited from unparalleled fun on escapades with his boat and camper.

Louie never met a stranger. He could carry on a meaningful conversation with anyone. He had a heart of gold. Hundreds of tap dancers traipsed and tapped through the Nielson home, never to be excluded from the wholesome meals prepared in the Nielson kitchen and always made to feel as if they were just one more part of the Nielson family.

The heart of gold couldn't last forever, and Louie succumbed to a heart attack in his sleep Aug. 22, 2006.

Louis is survived by his wife, Cindy, daughters, Jennifer and Hannah, of Sidney; his daughter, Christy Nemeh and her husband, George, and her children, Maddy Jane and Jacob, of Orange, Calif.; and mother, Eileen Nielson, of Sidney.

He was preceded in death by his father, Bill Nielson; and his brother, Matt Nielson.