James "Jim" Nielson

A Celebration of Life for James “Jim” LeRoy Nielson, 65, of Chico, Texas, will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, October 23, 2025, at Hudson & Torres Family Funeral Home in Bridgeport. A reception will immediately follow at Pablo’s Mexican Restaurant in, Chico, Texas.

A second Celebration of Life service will be held at 2 p.m. on Monday, October 27, 2025, at All Faiths Funeral Home in Grand Island, Nebraska, with Dan Naranjo officiating. Burial of ashes and Military Honors will immediately follow at Westlawn Cemetery.

James “Jim” LeRoy Nielson was born May 23, 1960, in Grand Island, Nebraska, to Dale and Levada (Svitak) Nielson, and passed away October 5, 2025, in Chico, Texas. 

James spent his school years working on the family farm. He enlisted in the U.S. Army and served as a Cryptographer, protecting sensitive data, creating and breaking codes and securing networks, which is vital for mission success. 

Serving in the U.S. Army Cyber Command, led to his lifelong career in Telecommunications where he was given the nickname Cowboy Jim and throughout the years Jim stuck. Some folks called him James, and some called him Jim.

On December 28, 2007, he was united in marriage to Sheri Cramer. They were blessed with a blended family, one daughter and a son, one year apart in age. He retired from Primoris Services Corporation (PSC) in March 2025 to carry out his dream of beekeeping.

He rarely missed a family function and loved to cook in his Dutch ovens, where he acquired the skills from his time as a Back Country Guide in the Selkirk Mountains of Idaho. He loved spending time with family and talking about bees.

James and his wife Sheri moved to Texas in 2007, working without equipment clearing raw land to build their new home, they hauled water for the first seven years until drilling a well. In 2016, they jumped into beekeeping to obtain agriculture exemption on their land, together they attended beekeeping meetings in Bridgeport, Texas, where a group of beekeepers and enthusiasts had been meeting for years but had never formed a club.

They were part of the founding members that started Wise Texas Bee Club (501-c), James held several positions Vise President, President, and Treasure. During this time, the club was able to obtain donations to sponsors and open a scholarship program for school-age students. James loved mentoring three scholarship students and continued to mentor all ages.

Together with his wife, their bee adventure started with three packages of bees in the Spring of 2017, by the end of the year they had thirteen hives established. James joined Real Texas Honey in 2019. He became a member and actively involved with Hives for Heroes “Save Bees - Save Vets”, a national non-profit military Veteran based service organization focusing on honeybee conservation and a healthy transition from service. Which has recently been extended to first responders as well. This was very close to their hearts, selling Hives for Heroes mugs at all events to help raise funds and to share with other veterans. They were very focused on developing Nielson Honey Farm Texas, LLC as the best family veteran owned beekeeping business, using best practice methods to produce the best raw unfiltered honey and raw unfiltered beeswax products. He was extremely proud when Nielson Honey Farm Texas was announced as the winner of the Black Jar contest by judges and by the people of Texas. This 2x Award Winning Ribbon’s was a very proud moment for him. His dedication and hard work led to achieving his goal for the best tasting honey in the state of Texas. 

James served as the Vice Chairman for the Real Texas Honey program of the Texas Beekeepers Association in 2025. What started out as a simple agriculture exemption has turned into a business that is growing to meet current and future demands for locally produced, pure raw unfiltered Texas honey. Migrating to over half the state of Texas, following the nectar flow and continuously growing. The production of honey itself is another lesson all wrapped up for delivery! 

He made amazing friends in the Bee industry across the United States, including in the Netherlands and Germany. His passion and integrity left a lasting impact on everyone who had the privilege of working with him. His wife Sheri will honor his legacy and carry forward his dream, making a positive impact globally.

He will be dearly missed by his wife of 18 years, Sheri; his loving mother, Levada of Grand Island, Nebraska; son, Troy “TJ” Nielson of Galveston, Texas; daughter, Susanne Jones (Ryan) of Peace River, Alberta, Canada; brothers, Keith Nielson (Roxie) of Cozad, Nebraska, Neal Nielson (April) of Hico, Texas, Dale S. Nielson (Lisa) of Chapman, Nebraska, Steven Nielson (financé Cheryl) of the Netherlands, David Nielson (Carla) of Archer, Nebraska, Deane Nielson (Rhonda) of Kearney, Nebraska, and Ronald Nielson (Jody) of Waukee, Iowa; granddaughter, Jordis Jones; brother-in-law, Leroy Mammel (Carol) of Calgary, Alberta, Canada; sister-in-law, Jennie Skogen (Tim) of Peace River, Alberta, Canada; special niece, Mary de Lange (Bernhard); special cousin, Caleb Nielson (Shelby); special friend, Ryan Dick (Rebecca); along with numerous nieces, nephews, and extended family and friends.

James is preceded in death by his father, Dale E. Nielson, In-laws, Sylvia and Clarence Mammel; grandparents, Sherman “John” (Mary) Nielson and Stanly (Dorothy) Svitak.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Hives for Heroes at: https://hivesforheroes.org/ or the Disabled American Veterans Ch. 70 in Decatur, Texas at: PO Box 917 Decatur, Texas 76234-0917

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