Clayton Koistinen

Clayton W Koistinen, age 86, of Boulder City, NV went to be with his Lord on March 4, 2014. He was born on September 7, 1927 in Bryant, SD to Fredrick and Anna Koistinen. He was a veteran of World War II serving in the US Coast Guard. He graduated college as an aeronautical engineer. He married Nina Wilkerson on August 28, 1953 in St. Louis, MO and they were inseparable during their 60 years of marriage. He was employed by Rockwell International for 33 years as the Lead Engineer on five generations of guidance and control systems, including the Minuteman I, II, III, MX, and SICBM. In 2002 he and Nine moved to Boulder City to be closer to family. Clayton was a man of strong Christian faith and a devoted member of his church. He was able to build or fix anything. He built a home in San Felipe Mexico where he loved to vacation. One of his many hobbies was restoring his 1942 Willys Army Jeep. He could often be seen driving the Jeep around town. Many called him MacGyver because of his ability to repair anything utilizing the simplest of items. His other hobbies included fishing, quail hunting, camping, being in the outdoors, and traveling. He and his family backpacked to Havasu Falls on two separate occasions. He and Nina traveled to numerous world-wide destinations. At the age of 68, he and Nina hiked to the summit of Mount Whitney, where they signed the guestbook. His wickedly dry humor will also be missed. Clayton is survived by his wife Nina Koistinen of Boulder City; three children, Marisue (Dean) Barnes of Boulder City, Greg Koistinen of Boulder City, and Brenda (Roger) Clark of San Diego, CA; one sister, Lou Ann (Dale) Everson of Hayti, SD; three grandchildren, Tami (Mike) Leavitt of Boulder City, Ryan (Elizabeth) Barnes of Henderson, Aaron Clark of San Diego, CA; and five great grandchildren. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, March 13, 2014 at 10:00 am at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery. In lieu of flowers please make donations to the Wounded Warriors Project. Family and friends can sign an online memorial guestbook at www.bouldercityfamilymortuary.com