William Mervin Nielson

On October 11, 2019, William Mervin Nielson, loving father, grandfather and great grandfather, passed away at the age of 92 in Bountiful Utah.  He was born on April 7, 1927, in Provo Utah, the fourth child and second son of William Maurice Nielson and Della May Peay.  At the age of two, he became seriously ill with scarlet fever.  The illness resulted in an infection in both ears, which ultimately destroyed most of his hearing.  He learned to read lips and wore hearing aids for the rest of his life.  Multiple surgeries restored some of his hearing, but also resulted in the paralysis of the right side of his face.
Despite the difficulties of his early life, in the fall of 1944 Merv entered college at the University of Utah, and spent the next 11 years in academia, eventually earning a Ph.D. in Entomology from Oregon State University.  In July of 1955 he accepted a position with the Entomology Division of the USDA, and worked there until his retirement in 1983.  He accepted an adjunct professor position at Brigham Young University Bean Museum from 1983-1997.  He continued to do research and write technical taxonomy papers right up until the time of his death.
As part of his work, he traveled all over the world, from South America, to Europe, to Asia and Australia.  He was world-renowned for his knowledge of leafhoppers.
Merv had a great passion for art.  He loved to paint and loved to share his work.  Landscape paintings were among his favorite and he spent much time in the outdoors with his paintbrushes.  He left a legacy of artwork for his posterity to enjoy.
He served several missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and was an avid genealogist for many years.
Mervin was preceded in death by his wife, Patricia, his daughter, Marilyn, and his great granddaughter, Ella.  He is survived by his two daughters Virginia Nielson Checketts (Daniel) and Louise Nielson Hammer (Roger), 16 grandchildren, 30 great grandchildren and counting.
A private graveside service will be held on October 19, 2019, at the Logan City Cemetery.