EDINA–Nicholas David Nielsen, aka Nick, aka Bobber, age 38 of Edina passed December 4, 2025 at the Mayo Hospitals in Rochester. Nick was born August 16, 1987 at Hennepin County Medical Center Midwife Unit in Minneapolis and lived his first few years in New Ulm. He lived most of his life in the southwest Minneapolis metro area, except for 5 years in Florida.

Cremation services will be handled by Cremation and Trade Services of St. Paul. His ashes will be used in tats for some family members, then spread into the waters he loved. A memorial service will be held at a later date for family and friends.

Nick is survived by his parents, Kim Nielsen and Roger Schanus, his brother Philip (Doctor Mary Nielsen) Nielsen and their children Oli, Margeaux, and Ody, his sister and end-of life caregiver Charle’ (Tom Sexton) Nielsen, brother Duncan (Kayla Grupp) Nielsen, grandmother Marilyn Nielsen (Russell Lindsay) Lindsay, other special people aunt Evie Schanus, uncle Dick Thoms, Irish uncles Pat Horan and Fred Hoffman, cousin Chris Cook, and many other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his grandfather Roger Nielsen, grandparents Ray and Valeria (Tauer) Schanus, aunt Pat Thoms, and cousin Robbie Schanus.

The Bobber side of him loved learning, reading, fishing, and being with nature. He read up to two novels a day. His fishing included lakes, rivers, and streams from northern Ontario to Florida and many states in between, and the Atlantic Ocean and Virgin Islands. His love for fishing was mostly to be outside and on the water. Except for shore lunch on fly-ins to Canada, it was all catch and release. His time in Florida included hours of surf casting from shore at the family beach house on the Atlantic, studying marine biology at The Bolles School, and as a record setting swimmer for North Florida. Most recently he worked as a PCA for his mother Kim.

Nick died of multiple organ failure and battled medical problems most of his life. His remaining viable organs are being used for transplants for others by the Mayo Clinic. He lived his last weeks at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. While there, he participated in a new study for Mayo on a state of the art machine to improve the transplant process. He was the first to participate in this study for Mayo and just the fourth worldwide. It didn’t save him, but it helped advance medical technology for others.

Thanks to Mayo for the opportunity.

Bobber loved and was loved deeply. He will always be with those who were fortunate to know and lived with him.

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