Henning Olav Nilsen

Henning O. Nilsen was born February 2, 1936 in Bergen, Norway, to Ole and HIlda Stensrud Nilsen. He lived on a small dairy farm on the island of Tysnes off the southwest coast of Norway and his Dad had stories to tell about the time of the German occupation of the country. In December of 1948 the family including Henning's younger sister, Astrid Synnove, and brother Ole Arthur, immigrated to the U.S. and settled on a small farm near Binghamton, New York. Henning graduated from North High School in Binghamton in 1955 and attended Broome Community College for 2 years earning a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He served in the Army National Guard. He worked for Link Aviation and Bausch & Lomb and then ventured to Colorado to ski. He night clerked at a motel while taking classes at the University of Colorado Extension Center in Denver. One day at their employment office he saw an opening for an application engineer. Not knowing what that was, he applied for the job, was hired, and it was the beginning of his career in the HVAC business. He met the boss's daughter, Ina May Gaebel and they were married June 22, 1963. Three sons were born in Denver, Curt, Barry, and Brady. He worked for Dunham-Bush and then managed a condo complex near Winter Park, Colorado for over a year. They returned to Denver where he was employed by Westinghouse and then the local Carrier Corp. distributor. His boss sold that company and bought Airefco, Inc. in Portland, and they moved to Beaverton in 1971 where Henning spent the rest of his working life at Airefco as a sales engineer. They moved to Tigard in 2004. The family enjoyed skiing for many years. Henning and Ina May were active square dancers for 45 years; volunteered at Medical Teams, International for 9 years, and loved traveling in their motor home for over 10 years. They were also privileged to travel abroad many times including 3 visits back to Norway. Henning was preceded in death by his parents Ole and Hilda, and his sister Astrid. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Ina May, his sons Brady, Barry (Karen), and Curt (Birdie,) 2 grandsons and 2 granddaughters as well as his brother Ole (Barbara) and 2 nieces and 2 nephews. Henning was a very patient, quiet, respectful, kind man, with a wonderful smile, and never sought the limelight or wanted to call attention to himself. We are having a simple memorial service on Saturday, March 31 at 2.00 p.m. at Tigard United Methodist Church. Memorial donations are suggested to Tigard United Methodist Church, 9845 SW Walnut Pl, Portland, OR 97223, or to Medical Teams, International, 14150 SW Milton Ct, Portland, OR 97224.