Steven DeReese Nielson

September 26, 1954 ~ July 10, 2019
Steven DeReese Nielson was born September 26, 1954 in Portland, OR. He was adopted by Lyman DeReese and Helen Lee Nielson, and they were thrilled to have a baby boy. They loved him so much.
He had two sisters, Tara Dawn Olsen and Reesalee Shutt. Reesalee passed away in December 2017.
Steven attended grade school at Park Terrace Elementary in Blanding and then continued on to junior high and high school at San Juan.
He played the trumpet in the band and didn’t care much for sports or book learnin’.
He had severe allergies, and whenever he worked in the hay or with the cows, his eyes would swell shut and he would be so miserable. Because of this, he wasn’t able to work with his dad much with the ranch.
He attended the National Scout Jamboree and had the opportunity to see the nation’s capital, twin towers, empire state building, and all the national monuments.
He met his wife, Belinda, at the bowling alley in Monticello, and they were married at the age of 17. In August it would have been their 47th wedding anniversary.
Steven attended Army Boot Camp in Fort Leonard Wood, MO. After Boot Camp, Belinda joined him and they were stationed in Hawaii.
While in the Army, Steven completed his GED. Their daughter, Stephanie Anne was born while they were living in Hawaii. They remained there for two and a half years until he was honorably discharged.
They moved back to Blanding where Steven was employed at the sawmill, did some uranium mining, and worked for San Juan County.
They bought a home and moved back to Monticello in 1977. Steven began working with the Utah Department of Transportation until he retired in 2003.
They added two sons to their family, Steven Issac Nielson born in 1977 and Jonathan DeReese Nielson born in 1985.
In 2004, Steven searched for and found his birth mother in Portland, OR. They enjoyed getting to know each other. However, three years later, she passed away with cancer.
This reunion added two half-sisters, three stepsisters, two stepbrothers, and a stepfather. He would travel to Oregon every year to visit with them. The family is happy they would travel so far to be with them.
Steven loved to hunt, especially with his boys. He loved to muzzle load and hunt deer.
He loved to garden and always had a beautiful one. He could grow the biggest onions ever. He measured each row evenly from the next, made sure the rows were straight and kept the weeds out.
He enjoyed working together with Jonathan in their gun sales/reloading business.
He loved classic cars and owned a ’69 Nova for many years. Steven loved ZZTop, Pink Floyd, Led Zeplin, and AC/DC and as he got older, he listened to the old twangy country music of Hank Williams and the like. He loved spicy hot food.
Steven was liked by everyone. He was calm and unassuming. He loved his family. His grandchildren were his pride and joy.
Steven is preceded in death by his parents and one sister.
He is survived by his wife, Belinda; daughter, Stephanie of Sandy, UT; sons, Steven (Marlina) and Jonathan (Erica) both of Monticello; eight grandchildren, Morgan, Kambri, Lila, Dakota, Shyann, Dylan, Owen and Westin; sister, Tara Dawn Olsen; and brothers-in-law Stephen Olsen and Dale Shutt.

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