Neils Raymond Poulsen, Jr., beloved husband, father, grandfather, son, brother, and friend, is gone too soon but passed away peacefully surrounded by his family and their tears on November 23, 2025.

Buddy to his siblings, Pop to his grandchildren, Baba to his namesake, and simply Dad to his kids & pups, Neils was the foundation of our family.

Born the second of six children in Syracuse NY, Buddy grew up an Air Force brat moving with his family across North America, including Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, where he and his siblings loved running in the woods, climbing tall trees and playing on the 5-foot-tall snow drifts.

Growing up, Buddy was perpetually the big brother and often felt like the example others inherently looked up to. When his family finally found their home base in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, Buddy was a boy scout, a student and an altar boy at St Mary ‘s Catholic School. Later at Fort Walton Beach High, Buddy played quarterback while earning (almost) straight A’s and for years, he and his brother were proclaimed as the only students allowed to sleep in Mr. Fletcher’s Physics class. When told he would have to cut his long hair for the football team, he elected to keep his locks… which ended up being a blessing for us all as Buddy took this extra time to teach himself the acoustic guitar.

Naturally, Buddy became a talented guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He initially shared this gift at mass every Sunday morning, not once, but twice – starting at one church and then joining his Mom & Dad as part of the St Mary’s choir. Throughout the years, his late-night sets frequently became the close-out, if not the highlight, of many family gatherings. Passing along his love of singing and his excellent taste in folk rock music, Neils even inspired his own Dad to learn the guitar after the age of 40, and later, taught his grandchildren how to wail on the electric & bass guitars.

Somehow also absurdly responsible from a young age, Buddy would be found selling packs of gum as singles to fellow students and his famous peanut butter cup business was wildly successful until all of his siblings ran out of money. For years, Buddy biked every day to work at Webb’s Nursery & Landscaping and paid his own way through college.

Neils proudly earned his Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Florida. When visiting the Swamp, he loved pointing out his old stomping grounds along with his father’s old on-campus office.  Game day was always an occasion and some of our favorite family moments were basking in Chompionships together. We know all of Gator Nation could hear him cheer from his recliner every gameday. Classy and decent, the only time you would hear him swear is when the refs made a(nother) bad call against the Gators.

A lifelong learner and teacher for anyone fortunate enough to listen, every project around the house became an opportunity to become an expert. If you needed to test outlet voltage, skip a rock like a pro or build a one-match fire, he was your guy. An avid reader, every book he read, whether it was an action/thriller, political commentary or historical biography, was passed along to be debated & discussed. He loved sharing what he knew and always had so much to share. Though frequently the lesson was how bad he could beat you at bags or the value of (you) losing a board game gracefully.

Neils constantly seemed to make decisions with an engineer’s mindset, and once he chose his path, he was steadfast. Though the company names and locations changed, he leveraged his degree into a remarkable 46-year career, all with the same company. And while Dad loved a lot of things – baseball (Go O’s!), camping in Yosemite, a good glass of wine, a true vacation in Kauai, great Thai food – the true love of his life was Tina, his high school sweetheart for more than 53 years. From the house they built to household chores to planning their adventures, Neils did both the big things and the small stuff to help compose their love story. They shared their dreams, and he crafted meticulous plans to go chase them together.

Ultimately though, Pop’s greatest joy was the family that he and Tina created. He was a family man through and through – the parent who would never miss his kids’ volleyball, football or basketball away game - if he wasn’t already their little league coach or Indian Guide.

With his three children, he modeled kindness, patience, responsibility, and most of all how to love fiercely. When Neils was blessed with four grandsons, he was like a second father and they lived with him for many years. First to toss a child into the pool or to be the school taxi, he was always there – committed to be there for everyone in his family, no matter the need.

Pop was the loud and the quiet cornerstone of our family. A devoted provider & caretaker, he shaped our lives with his relentless dedication and unreserved, whole-hearted love.

Our Buddy, our Pop, our Dad will be dearly, painfully and forever missed. The terrible abyss of his absence is only endurable by the tremendous love, wonderful memories and profound legacy he left for us.

The funeral service, with a visitation at 12:15pm and a mass at 1:00pm, will be held on Saturday, December 6, 2025 at Our Saviour's Catholic Church in Cocoa Beach, FL where Neils was a long-time parishioner and the cantor/music director for the 12 o’clock mass for over a decade.

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