James NIELSEN Obituary (2022) – St. Petersburg, FL

NIELSEN, James McHenry “Doc” 78, passed away January 13, 2021 at his home in Dunedin, Florida. Known as Jim, Jimmy, Jiminy Cricket, JMoHenry, Niels or Doc to his friends, Jim was a father, inventor, adventurer, musician, superior athlete, world traveler, ophthalmologist, surgeon, world record fisherman, Army veteran and dedicated humanitarian. He was born in Jersey City, NJ, March 1, 1942, joining Gale Davenport and Sandy Wanner as the third child born to Myra and Dr. Bernhard Nielsen. Jim grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey and attended Hackensack High School. He had a love of sports, particularly alpine skiing and soccer. He also spent many summers with family and friends on cherished Indian Lake in the Adirondack Mountains. It was here that his love of fishing began and the family waterski daredevils would perform. Jim graduated from Rutgers University. He met his first wife, Phyllis, during his collegiate years who bore him three children, Kirstjen, Fletcher and Ashley. It was also during this time that many of Jim’s lifelong friendships and fraternal brothers would be found and the untold stories of legend would begin. Jim traveled everywhere he could but always kept a special place in his heart for Easter Island off the coast of Chile where he spent an unforgettable year living on the island as part of a famed medical expedition in 1964-1965. When it came time to depart Easter Island the natives gifted him an amazing collection of wooden and stone statues in honor of the massive Moai megaliths on the island. Jim always had them displayed throughout his home and offices in memory of the gift of travel. After graduating from New York Medical College, he served in the Army as a Captain. After serving, the family moved to Montclair, NJ where he continued his medical studies, earned a doctorate and completed his residency in ophthalmology at Harvard University. The family moved to New Port Richey, FL in 1976 where Jim eventually started his own medical practice, the Nielsen Eye Center, and spent over 50 years as a practicing physician. Jim was a renowned surgeon who performed operations in over 40 countries. He was a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and received countless awards and recognitions for his outstanding work in intraocular lenses, surgery technique and contributions to the blind and visually impaired. A true inventor, Jim was always looking for better ways to do things in the medical field. He is credited with multiple medical patents throughout the world including one for the first bio-ocular lens. Patients and friends who came to his medical office often enjoyed viewing a map of the world that had pins representing the many places on six continents that he had traveled, lectured and performed surgery. Jim was a doctor from an age past and even as insurance requirements tried to limit the doctor’s time with patients, he believed in the importance of the relationship and would always take the time to listen and get to know them on a personal level. If he was not in the office, Jim was likely fishing or skiing. Jim proudly held world records in salt water fly fishing and his office was filled with the large mounted tarpon, sailfish and golden dorados he had caught on some of his wild adventures. Endlessly creative, he was an artist, a musician and constantly viewed the world with the wondrous eyes of a child. Believing in giving back, he coached girls’ soccer teams, worked to help veterans throughout his life and served in various volunteer and fiduciary roles to support his community including as a church vestry member at Church of the Ascension and as a Board member at St. Paul’s School. Proud of his Danish and Scottish heritage, he also instilled his love of the United States wherever he traveled. He was selected to represent the U.S. as part of a Presidential delegation to the Special Olympics in South Korea celebrating his love of sport, travel and country. Jim is survived by his wife, Dane; his three children, Kirstjen, Fletcher and Ashley; his two grandchildren, Emei and Chloe; and his sisters, Gale and Sandy; and their families. He is dearly missed. A Celebration of Life service will be held at The Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Clearwater, Saturday, January 22, at 1 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to causes he cared about deeply; Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing- dedicated to the physical and emotional rehabilitations of those disabled during active military servicewww.projecthealingwaters.org/donateBonefish and Tarpon Trust- whose mission is to conserve and restore bonefish, tarpon and permit fisheries and habitats through research, stewardship, education and advocacy.https://www.bonefishtarpontrust.org/donate