Friends and family have shared their relationship to show their support.

How do you know Christopher Joseph Nielsen?

Family Friend Work Other

We are sorry for your loss.

Help others honor Christopher's memory.

Copy

Coping with Grief

We would like to offer our sincere support to anyone coping with grief. Enter your email below for our complimentary daily grief messages. Messages run for up to one year and you can stop at any time. Your email will not be used for any other purpose.

Official Obituary of

Christopher Joseph Nielsen

May 24, 1971 ~ January 17, 2021 (age 49) 49 Years Old

Christopher Nielsen Obituary

Christopher Joseph Nielsen, (aka Barrel, Bucky, Rumple, Junior), 49 of Bangor, formerly of Cumberland

and Gray, passed away unexpectedly Jan 17, 2021 of natural causes.

Chris was born in Portland, Maine to parents Karen M. (Walton) and John J. Nielsen and graduated

Greely High School in Cumberland.

Chris was born with the “Gift of Gab”, the term his family used for his ability to talk non-stop. This gift

and his sense of humor allowed Chris to make friends wherever he went. If you were his friend, you

knew it. No matter how bad his day was, he would ask how your day was or how your family was.

His generosity knew no bounds, he gave freely of himself and any worldly goods he possessed to

someone in need. His last gift was through organ donation. His legacy of love will live on.

Fiercely loyal, he would stand by his family and friends, even when it was not in his own best interest.

You always knew where you stood with Chris, mostly because he was not afraid to tell you how he felt.

Did we mention he liked to talk? Chris knew no strangers.

Chris enjoyed cooking (especially for others), music, video games and incessantly teasing his loved ones.

He loved animals and was a longtime volunteer at the local pet food pantries, a position that gave him

great pleasure and a new audience to talk to.

Although he had none of his own, he loved children. Affectionately known as “Uncle Bucky”, he adored

his niece and great-nephews as well as the children of his friends, their friends, and their friends too. He

was always thrilled when asked to babysit or get someone off the bus. He was not always the best

influence, but all the kids loved him, and he got such amusement from them. They were all family to

him.

Chris was predeceased by his parents Karen and John Nielsen, and his cats Guy-Smiley and Hover.

His is survived by his cat Scrappy, his sister Sonja Nielsen (partner James Gammon), his niece Karli

McDonald (husband David McDonald) and his great nephews Liam and Lewis McDonald. He also leaves

behind his band of brothers, Lawrence Braley, Jimi Leonard, Steve Libby, Joe McBrady and Travis Dyer.

Their enduring friendship is a testament to the kind of person Chris was and the love he had and gave.

He will be laid to rest with his socks on, beside his parents at Calvary Cemetery in South Portland. A

graveside service will be held later when his family and friends are able to attend. A celebration of his

life will be planned for summer and details will be announced when available.

Please share your most memorable stories and pictures of Chris to

remembering.chris.nielsen@gmail.com. The collection will be shared at his celebration.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to HART Adoption Center and Shelter for Cats 302 Range Rd

Cumberland, ME 04021 https://www.hartofme.org/memorial-gift

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Christopher Joseph Nielsen, please visit our floral store.