On Friday, September 4, 2020, Karl Allan Neilson, loving husband and father of two children, passed away at home at the age of 64. He was born to Dan and Dolores Neilson in 1955 in San Francisco, California.
Karl was an independent, strong willed child. This continued throughout his life and he tackled all his interests with a vengeance. Despite a learning disability he pushed himself through high school, graduating from Campolindo High in 1975. He then pursued his passion of auto mechanics by continuing his education at the Arizona Automotive Institute. He joined the Navy to get an education in gas turbine engines.
While in the Navy he met and married Sharon Buksas in Waukegan, Illinois in 1978. They had two wonderful children, Michael and Kristina. Their Navy travels took them to Iceland before finally settling in Yuba City, California. There he started a Mac tool truck business and later his father and two brothers, Paul and Eric, pooled the family resources to start an auto repair, quick lube business managed by Karl while still maintaining his tool business.
While his marriage to Sharon didn’t last, they remained friends and partners in parenting their children. He was blessed to meet Mindie Searcy and they married in Yuba City in 2002. They found their way to Caldwell, Idaho so they could have the land to have two horses. Their menagerie included Karl’s other children, his dogs that he spoiled endlessly, several of them had Karl wrapped around their paws and could get away with anything prompting Karl to exclaim, “isn’t she the cutest thing?”. Over the years they also raised a couple of cows, goats and chickens as Karl turned from a city to a country lad. His latest toy was a tractor that he got such a kick out of operating he would voluntarily mow his neighbor’s lawns with it.
Karl worked on his personal growth throughout his life strengthening connections with family and friends through the years and accepting Christ on November 22, 2015.
Karl is survived by spouse, Mindie; the mother of his children, Sharon Neilson; parents, Dan and Dolores; children, Kristina Mathena, Michael Neilson; step children, Robert Searcy, Jeffrey Searcy; siblings, Paul Neilson, Eric Neilson; grandchildren, Kendall Searcy, Zoe Searcy, Michael Searcy, Piper Mathena, Sammie Searcy, Corbin Mathena; plus 8 fur babies.
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