One last good-bye Friends, family mourn Sgt. Robert Nielsen

      During the service, some stood, while some sat, but they were there for the same reason to say good-bye to a man they came to know as a father, son, friend and hero. Long-time volunteer firefighter and police Sgt. Robert Nielsen, known to friends as Bobby,' died Sunday morning in his home of a self-inflicted gun shot wound. He was 51.
      Family members and friends gathered to hear stories from religious leaders from St. Mary's and Temple Emanu-El of Long Beach. Nielsen has been involved with St. Mary's for 21 years. He continuously volunteered his time there, whether it was for work or for personal reasons.
      As a member of Temple Emanu-El for 15 years, Nielsen would stop and chat about life, which often revolved around his kids, Lee and Sharon.
      When he spoke about his kids, his face just lit up, said Temple Emanu-EL Cantor emeritus Bette Cohen.
      Cohen spoke on how Nielsen's children remembered their father. His daughter Sharon, Cohen said, remembered riding around in her father's patrol car as a young girl with the red lights whirling around. For Nielsen's son Lee, some of his fondest memories were of his father coaching his Little League team and having the only girl in the league on their team. His father, it seemed, had insisted that Sharon be a part of the squad.
      Nielsen, a bowling and golf enthusiast and big NASCAR fan, graduated from Long Beach High School and served in the military for a few years before joining the Long Beach Police Department.
      As a cop more than 20 years ago, Nielsen broke in many new colleagues as the department's training officer. He spent several years in the Crime Prevention Unit before being promoted to sergeant. As a sergeant, he served as a desk officer and street supervisor. He was described by police commissioner John Laffey as one of the best supervisors on the force.
      Nielsen is survived by his wife Barbara (nee Elefante); his first wife Linda, and their children, Lee and Sharon.
      Following emotional services at St. Mary's, Sgt. Nielsen was buried at Calverton National Cemetery in Farmingdale.