Born 5/9/1930
Roselle, Illinois
Died 4/22/2023
Claremont, New Hampshire
Details of services
A green burial graveside service will be held at the Quaker City Unity Friends Meeting House at the West end of Quaker City Road/ Black North Road in Unity New Hampshire on Friday April 28th at 2 pm. All welcome.
Scott Nielsen died at dawn on Earth Day, Saturday, April 22nd, 2023, from a stroke suffered at home the day before. His wife, Nelia Sargent, and his children, Ben Nielsen and Jenny Nielsen Warshow, surrounded him and he died peacefully in his sleep. He also leaves behind four grandchildren, Hannah and Julia Nielsen, and David and Ethan Nielsen Warshow, as well as Ellen Hills Nielsen and so many friends at Quaker City.
Scott was born on May 9, 1930 at home in Roselle, Illinois where he attended a 3 room schoolhouse. Following University of Chicago degrees, he earned a PHD and taught at MIT. He then worked at Travelers Insurance Company in Hartford, CT where he had both children with his first wife Janet Nielsen. He joined the War on Poverty as staff for the American Friends Service Committee in Kennett Square, PA, pioneering the first east coast self-help migrant farm workers program to build permanent homes. He then moved to Marshfield VT, to become a professor at Goddard College.
He retired to Unity, New Hampshire to live in his beloved Quaker community, Quaker City. He volunteered tirelessly to build and restore community and buildings he loved, including two historic Quaker Meeting Houses.
His nonviolent activism served many worthy causes including conservation, renewable energy, recycling, fair treatment of people domestically and abroad, and creative ways to reduce the human footprint on the environment. His principled commitments voluntarily cut his income in half 3 times, donating over half his income even at the lowest level–living simply so others may simply live. He was willing to be arrested working for the causes he believed in. He taught classes in civil disobedience and nonviolent social change.
And as Scott always said at the end of his phone calls “Over and out”.