Ken Nilsen, Cape George, Antigonish County, died peacefully surrounded by his family, in St. Martha’s Hospital, Antigonish, Nova Scotia on Friday, April 13, 2012. He was loved and respected by many who knew him. Although it was too short, his life was full and joyful and he was always who he wanted to be.
He was predeceased by his father Jack and his mother Mary (nee Larkin) Nilsen. He is survived by his wife and best friend Marty and by his brother Ron, sister-in-law Ellen, niece Barbara (Steve), grand-nephew Nathaniel and a large extended family.
Ken was born in Brooklyn, New York of Norwegian and Irish heritage. Early in life Ken developed a love of languages after watching a Norwegian relative speak English with the help of a Norwegian/English dictionary. As a child, it amazed and intrigued him to think that a person could open a book and speak another language. Throughout his life he never lost his appreciation of languages, although he discovered there was more to it than opening a book and he became fluent in English, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, French, Breton and Norwegian.
In 1969 he obtained a B.A. cum laude, from Brooklyn College. He was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to study in Ireland, but declined it to accept a Harvard Graduate Prize Fellowship to study in the Department of Celtic Languages and Literatures. He earned an MA in 1970 and a Ph.D. Celtic Studies 1975 from Harvard University.
In the years between 1975 and 1984, Ken said he lived as a pauper scratching out a living driving around New England teaching Irish and Scottish Gaelic at different schools. He planted seeds of interest in Celtic languages and is still referred to as "Johnny Apple Seed".
For the past twenty-eight years, Ken lived and worked in Antigonish, Nova Scotia where he was an Associate Professor, Professor and Chair of Celtic Studies at St. Francis Xavier University and held the Sister Saint Veronica Chair in Gaelic Studies.
Growing up, Ken attended Gaelic Societies in Brooklyn and Boston and met many Nova Scotians who were or knew of native Gaelic speakers. He was drawn to Antigonish and St. Francis Xavier University because of the Gaelic heritage of the communities on the northern mainland and Cape Breton Island. He conducted interviews on weekends during the school year and spent his summers and sabbaticals teaching at Harvard University and travelling to Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Brittany to research and teach.
Ken communicated honest enthusiasm and developed trusting relationships when interviewing native speakers both in North America and abroad. He genuinely liked and respected the people he spoke with, was excited to hear them speak their language and tell their stories and was delighted by the subtle differences in the spoken dialects of different areas. He interviewed and recorded some of the last speakers of distinct dialects in northern Antigonish county and Cape Breton and helped preserve a heritage which may otherwise have been lost. He developed a videotape Archive of the Celtic Languages in North America, published numerous papers and articles and took part in several international academic events.
His work was his passion and his hobby. Not only did he enjoy the academia of Celtic Studies, he sang the songs, danced to the music and he told the stories.
Ken lived near the beach and often walked along the shore with his wife, enjoying the sight of eagles, herons, cormorants and the occasional seal in the strait. He enjoyed working outdoors where he particularly liked to attack and prune the alders with fiendish glee, an endless job.
The family wishes to thank the wonderful, knowledgeable and caring staff in the PCU at St. Martha’s Hospital, Frances Chisholm, the VON and Drs. Menard and Cooper. We would also like to thank the Claymore Inn for extending hospitality above and beyond.
A Funeral Mass will be held at the St. Francis Xavier University Chapel with Father Danny MacLennan presiding on Wednesday, April 18, 2012 at 10:00am. Cremation will follow the service. Charitable donations can be made in Ken’s name to the St. Martha Regional Hospital Foundation (Palliative Care), Antigonish NS ( online: http://smrhfoundation.com/donate/)
"He has departed from our midst, full of years, indeed and of glory" - Pliny the Younger (A.D.100)