Obituary of Tore K. Nielsen

It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to Tore K. Nielsen, who passed away July 21, 2020.  He will be remembered for his quiet kindness in life and great courage in the face of adversity.

He was born in Drammen, Norway, to Kjell Nielsen and Klara Fanuelsen Nielsen. During the formative years of his life, World War II was raging in Europe. Norway was occupied by Nazi Germany. For five years between his 4th and 9th years, his grade school was occupied by Nazi officers. His father and other family members and friends were actively engaged in the Norwegian Underground. The children were often used as couriers to carry messages back and forth. They were instrumental in preventing Germany from completing their plans to manufacture the atomic bomb. They were successful in sabotaging the transport of deuterium (heavy water),  which was an essential ingredient.

The end of the war left Tore with a personal ethic that emphasized the importance of individual freedom, democracy, and the sacrifices and cooperation that are needed to further the common good of mankind. He remained a humanitarian agnostic with liberal political views, especially in the area of the possibility of universal health care.  He was always deeply respectful of the political and religious views of others and held his friends in the highest possible regard.                                                                                                               

Tore and his widowed mother moved to the United States when he was 15 years of age to be close to his sisters, Helen Kuhn (deceased) and Marit Carlson, who had married American Army officers.  He made a positive adaptation to his new life in America. He attended Clover Park High School in Tacoma, Washington, Pacific Lutheran University for his pre-medical studies, followed by medical school at the University of Washington.  He did his general internship in St. Paul, Minnesota, followed by a three-year residency in psychiatry and neurology at the University of Washington.

During the Vietnam War, he was Neuropsychiatry Chief of Medical Corps Reserves at the 50th General Reserve Hospital at Fort Lawton and later Fort Lewis (1962-1969).  He was chief resident at both the VA and University Hospital. He was an associate clinical professor at UW School of Medicine, and published papers “Alcoholism and Suicide” and “EEG and Juvenile Behavior Patterns.”

Tore met his future wife, Bonnie, a psychiatric nurse, at the UW Medical School Hospital.  They married in Montana and moved to Olympia, Washington, in 1964, where they welcomed and cherished their four children, Julie (Mark Japhet), Todd, Brad, and Lisa (Robert Spieler). Lisa and her family reside in Vienna, Austria. Tore adored his grandchildren, Brittney Japhet (Garrad Miller), Christopher  Japhet (Maria Reyes) and Benjamin and Lilia Nielsen-Spieler.  He was privileged to welcome his two great grandchildren, Brooklyn  and Cayson Miller. Tore enjoyed a close and supportive extended family  in America, Austria, Norway, Sweden, France, and Belgium.

In Olympia, Tore directed the Community Mental Health Center for seven years, followed by a private practice in general psychiatry until his retirement in 2007. He also spent a year as director of the West Hawaii Community Mental Health Center at Kealakekua, Hawaii.  He also served as consultant for PLU Health Services Green Hill School for delinquent boys, Maple Lane School, and the Thurston County Jail. 

He graduated with honors from college and thesis honors from medical school. Tore was board-certified in psychiatry and neurology, and also received an APA Fellowship. He did clinical trial research for several pharmaceutical companies.

Tore was active in many professional organizations and associations.  He was an active member of Providence St. Peter medical staff for 46 years, and was an honorary member until his death.  He also was a loyal member of the Olympia Rotary Club until the age of 85. He was interested in their world mission and the many wonderful projects, including eradication of polio. He loved attending Rotary meetings during his foreign travels. He liked the book group and attended meetings in his wheelchair for years after he lost his ability to walk or speak. His interests included sports, especially soccer, golf and tennis; reading; politics; theatre; music; travel; bridge; gardening; and spending time with family and friends.

Favorite lines from Shakespeare’s Hamlet: “Minister to the mind diseased. Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow, raze out the written troubles of the brain and clear the perilous stuff that weighs upon the heart.”

Favorite lines from the poem, Invictus, by William Ernest Henley: “In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud and yet the menace of the years finds and shall find me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.”

We wish to thank the caregivers, Kastine, Peggy, Andre, Olga, Danny and Maria, and the wonderful army of supporters from the Senior Center, Parkinsons Exercise, Parkinsons Singing, Parkinsons Support, The Valley, Dial-a-Lift, Rotary, friends and family who have helped support and maintain Tore’s quality of life and love for the last many years.

As a final act of generosity, Tore donated his brain to Parkinsons Research Center, PANUC, named for Congressman Udall at the University of Washington, and VA Puget Sound Health Care System.

 

 

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