San Juan Pharmacy Marks 60 Year Anniversary

2026 marks the 60th anniversary of San Juan Pharmacy in Blanding. The family-owned business has been an asset to the community since 1966, when Kirk Nielson first became Blanding’s pharmacist.

Although moving to Blanding turned out to be a lifelong blessing for the Kirk Nielson family, they acquired the pharmacy under sad circumstances.

In November of 1964, Blanding pharmacist Tom Brockmeier flew his light, single-engine plane to Arizona to pick up his 18-year-old son, Tom Brockmeier Jr., who was a freshman at Arizona State University, to bring him home for the Thanksgiving holiday. Tom and his son never returned. After a two-day search, the plane was discovered by a couple of hunters in mountainous terrain 40 miles northeast of Payson, Arizona, where it had crashed in stormy weather. Both father (age 40) and son (age 18) had been killed in the accident.

Kirk Nielson grew up in Bluff and Blanding. He earned his degree in pharmacy at Idaho State University in Pocatello and was working as a licensed pharmacist in Twin Falls, Idaho when people began reaching out to him about the possibility of filling the sudden vacancy left by Brockmeier. With experience working for independent pharmacies in Texas, South Odgen, and Idaho, Kirk was uniquely suited for the opportunity to take over the business.

He spent about a month in Blanding getting things squared away before moving his family to San Juan County at the beginning of the year. The Nielson family bought Brockmeier’s drugstore business in February of 1966. They leased the space for the store from Merwin Shumway, who owned the building, and then bought the building from him three or four years later. They continued to call the pharmacy Pay Day Drug, which was named after Shumway’s uranium mine, the Pay Day.

As the oldest of Kirk’s seven children, Dana Nielson was a Junior in high school when his family relocated to Blanding. For Dana, the move was a good one. He quickly learned to love the small town and the small school environment versus the big schools he had come from.

Dana graduated from San Juan High School in 1967, attended a quarter at then-Dixie College, and served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Upon returning home, he attended the University of Utah where he received his Bachelor of Pharmacy degree in 1975. His wish to stay in a small town became a reality when he and his wife Marian (Manning) were able to return to Blanding in 1975 to help his dad with the store. The two made a great father-and-son team.
In 1998, after more than 30 years at the pharmacy, Dana’s father, Kirk Nielson, passed away and Dana became the sole pharmacist in Blanding.

It’s not always easy being a pharmacist. If a pharmacy is open, a registered pharmacist must be there. At one time Blanding had one doctor, one clinic, and one pharmacy, which meant that the one doctor (Dr. De LaMar Gibbons) and the one pharmacist (Dana Nielson) were pretty much tied down and basically always on call.

A new father-and-son pharmacy duo began when Dana’s son Scott joined the pharmacy about nine years ago. Scott now serves as the main pharmacist. “He’s a really good pharmacist,” says dad Dana. “I’m mostly there to help out these days. If it wasn’t for Scott coming in, I probably would have retired before now.” As it is, Dana has been a pharmacist at the San Juan Pharmacy for 51 of the 60 years it has been in business!

A lot of changes take place in the space of 60 years. The drugstore was known as Pay Day Drug until 1980 when the family decided to change the name to San Juan Pharmacy.

In1982 the Nielson's purchased the drugstore in Monticello. Once called Monticello Drug, it too became known as San Juan Pharmacy. Dana’s brother Lee worked there as the druggist for the next ten years and then their brother Kenny took over until the family sold the Monticello business to Tim Young.

In October of 1984 the family purchased the small store adjacent to the north of the Blanding drugstore and removed the wall to open up and expand the space. The remodel gave the business better lighting and more room for the gift shop section of the store.

During its 60 years the store has been involved in a lot of sponsorships for the youth in the community. As Pay Day Drug (and then San Juan Pharmacy) they sponsored Little League Baseball for more years than can be counted. They sponsor partnerships with the Drill Team and Cheerleaders to provide a float for the Fourth of July parade. It’s quite possible that San Juan Pharmacy has a record for the longest consecutive-running business float in the Fourth of July parade!

They have also employed hundreds of high school kids through the years. According to Dana, their employees have been the Best. Some of the longtime store clerks that people might remember include Maurine Beeson, Hilda Perkins, Peggy Jack, Erline Lewis, Leslie Nielson, and now Alicia Bayles.

Dana notes that they have also had a lot of great, super sharp technicians including Tara Grover, Vicky Lacy, and Brittney Grover. Technicians have to be trained, licensed, and certified before they can work in a pharmacy. Three of Dana’s children are licensed technicians.

San Juan Pharmacy has always provided a lot of after-hour service, as well as home delivery in emergency situations and/or for people who are homebound. During Covid they were called out regularly.

Nielson has seen a lot of change in the pharmaceutical world with the explosion of technology, computers, new drugs and the expanded availability of drugs. There are more restrictions and regulations in the drug industry that ever before, which can sometimes make his job a challenge. Dana’s nephew, Kellen Nielson, does a great job working on the business end of the San Juan Pharmacy team which helps immensely!

Dana relates that his favorite thing about working as a pharmacist has always been the people –- working with good people, and serving all the good people in this community. He loves it here. It’s been a great 60 years!