Happy Birthday, Johnny!!   Miss ya -you Rascal 😊  

Jim 

Anna Carin, Daniella and Alexandra I want to extend my deepest sympathies. We all lost a good friend. Over the last twenty years John and I became good friends as he worked on environmental remediation and then as he supported my golf tournament. Other than our similarity in ages, we were an odd couple – he an accomplished athlete and me somewhat a Washington based policy wonk, but we were friends. 

 As we mourn the loss of John Nillen, we also celebrate the joy, inspiration, and love he brought into our lives. His memory will live on through all of us. May we honor his legacy by embodying the values he held dear and cherishing the moments we shared with him.

I am sorry that I am not with you this weekend. 

 Someday I need to learn about the name Topper and I hope to hear about his time in Lima, Ohio – I am from Ohio and we never talked about that.

Rest in peace, John. Your spirit will remain in our hearts, and your example will continue to guide us.

We loved you as a brother

Jeff

I have read in the obituary and comments here that Topper's stuffing of the ballot box for the NBA 1977 all star game must have passed the statute of limitation. John solicited the DC crew from Regis to take a  few thousand ballots back to DC to fill out so that they all didn't come from Colorado!   We even got a couple of Washington Bullets on the team

3 Denver starters on the team in the first year in the NBA.   All 3 are Hall of Famers but I do remember Dan Issel apologizing to Kareem for beating  him out for a starting spot 

My heart breaks for your family that so loved you     I know you fought the good fight 

One of the toughest guys I ever knew 

Love always 

Topper you are one of the strongest people I know. I am glad to know you -been your roommate and friend.

You made me a better person because of it. Jim B  Campion  “72.

• I would say that John was one of my best friends through the last 25+ years of his life. We worked together as partners. We coached together. He mentored me as a coach to me. We played a lot of golf together. We did a lot of world changing business together. He loved his family dearly. He loved and cared for basketball greatly, but loved even more for the many players he coached. He left a great legacy that I will call - A Rocky Mountain Magical Life. You will see more from me here as I find more stories and images.

I took Topper fishing on the Eagle River in Gypsum about 45 years ago. In less than 10 minutes he hooked his first ever trout. He got so excited he sprinted away from the river into the forest behind him, fishing pole in hand and trout on the end of the line. The poor trout didn't know what hit him. We brushed all the leaves and grass off the fish and released him back into the river. The trout looked back while swimming away and gave Top a look saying "are you a crazy fisherman or what"? I told Topper that with the next fish all you have to do is stand there and use the reel to get the fish to the river bank. Next fish he ran again but not as far. Ended up catching over 10 fish. True story.

That is Topper all the way. Never a dull moment being around him, loved fishing, loved golf, great story teller, had more friends than anyone I know. He talked all the time about his daughters, and his beautiful and ever so caring Anna Carin! I'm sure he's telling a story right now.

Miss you, Top. You loved your family so much, were a one of a kind person, and always a true friend. Until we meet again.

Denny

We love you John and we will miss your great sense of humor, that great smile and your Chicago style spark! Marvel / Nillen gatherings will certainly not be the same without you, but we’ll always hold a place for you in our hearts. 

To Anna, Daniella (Marco) and Alex (Jack) there was no greater love or care given than what he received by each of you.  Our hearts are with you.  

I’ve known Topper since high school. While we did not run in the same crowd, we know each other and got along great. I never heard Topper say anything bad about anyone. He was always there in anyway I needed. 

He was especially helpful during the reunions that we had, I started planning reunions every five years and he was always there to help, especially when it came to logo gear. I still have my hat! 

Topper was always fun to watch on the basketball court. He was easy to find also, with that red hair!

Topper was a good soul and he will be missed by all. At least we have some great memories and those will be fun to look back on.

“Topper”

He led us for four years on the hard courts at Campion. Displaying an unmatched vision for the open man and finding the gaps in the lanes he drove it home while assisting others to score more than he. Never worried about individual stats, he preferred a team victory to how many points he had. His defense was tenacious. Quick as lightning, stealing the ball whenever an opponent's arrogance offered the opportunity, red hair flying to drive down the court and hit the layup.

Never one to complain on the court, and little said about victory or defeat afterwards, Topper led with perseverance, drive, and quiet courage. A calm steady influence for those around him, on and off the court. Never flamboyant in words, he let his action speak louder.

And we know as we tested his equanimity often, baiting him left, right and center. He never wavered, but would often respond about the errors of one’s comments with sharp biting humor. He gave as good as he got. Like Butkus, one of his and our Chicago Bears favorites, Topper took no quarter on or off the court.

We lost touch for a while, as Topper sought greater adventures overseas. Spreading his gospel of unselfish hoops far and wide. He married up, to a Swedish Princess. Suffered some health issues overseas far away from home, and carried on battling as if nothing was the matter. Always going forward in life despite the obstacles in front of him.

We finally caught up when he returned to the States. He had taken on additional challenges spreading his mantra on the professional and community level that b-ball was a team game and each player had a valued role to play.

Colorado and the mountains seemed to suit his soul. He enjoyed climbing steep hills in life. Never complaining about the training required to meet the challenges of being a 50 year old + senior 5,000 meter speed skater champion, even against the Canadians in Banff. Little did we know of these exploits until later on in his life. A humble being, content with meeting his own high standards without the need to brag about his exploits or seek other’s affirmations.

Over dinner in Denver last year, good faith attempts were made to stir him up a bit with adverse commentary on his wayward golf game. While he never took the bait, he let it be known that he could give it out as well as take it. And of course, he said bring it. We never got to bring it on the course again despite his gracious invitations.

Topper was a man of fortitude and courage, of honesty and faith and love. He believed, and so did we in him, that the lessons he could provide the younger were valuable, worth teaching in an age of individualism He devoted his life to being of service to others; many less fortunate than ourselves, in teaching them how to be the best by being of service,,,,, in sports or in life.,,,,, to others.

As a gift of appreciation in friendship and in recognition of his athletic achievements north of the border his Campion mates gave him a stuffed Canadian Moose made in Alberta. ( see photo) after a trip to the lands of snow and ice. In recognition of beating the best up north. Topper resembled a Moose to us, not in size but in Spirit, standing strong, being tenacious, not waylaid by unimportant issues, nor deterred by illness, steady as he goes.

We shall carry Topper on with us and honor him by living in ways that exemplify the best of him, his values, of courage, fortitude, honesty, humility, perseverance and love of family and friends. In that way, he will never leave us and will always be close to our hearts.

Always forward with Topper, to his hoops of life.

“Campion Almighty”

Knights 58- Aquinas 55

God Bless the Nillen family

CHG

I will never forget meeting John for the first time in July 1976 when we were both working for the Nuggets. 

He was an all-star for the team, from signing Sports Illustrated covers featuring David Thompson to working hard to see three Nuggets earn starting berths in the 1977 NBA All-Star Game.

John worked hard then, and he worked hard at the end.

RIP, John. Your dedication to our friendship will be missed now and forever.

He is smiling from above as he searches for a rink to skate.