Family

Born in 1990 to complete our family of five, Nathan was a bright spot to us all—little brother and best friend to Ryan and Megan. From the start, they were inseparable. I remember that Megan would line up her wide assortment of “babies” next to Nathan, including him in her play. The adventures the three kids had together started from day one.

As a young child, it was obvious that he had engineering genes. When he was about three, we were at a local park and the kids headed toward the merry-go-round that was twirling with happy children. Ryan and Megan hopped on, but Nathan squatted down, trying to look underneath to figure out what was making it go. That curiosity continued his entire life.

His personality was fun-loving, gentle, and sweet with a lot of ornery mixed in. He was always honest. It actually became a bit of a family joke. When Nathan was 4 years old, Gary built a brick sidewalk extending from our side yard to the back yard. He came home from work one day to find that someone had dismantled part of the new brick walkway. Surmising it was Nathan, he asked him about it. Nathan thought for a minute, then responded. “Daddy, it was either me or someone else.”

To say he was “busy” would be a gross understatement. He stood at the kitchen counter to do math, climbed a tree with his reader, and did his other work lying on the floor, standing at the kitchen table, or relaxing on the living room couch.

 Homeschooling was a perfect fit for our family and we all enjoyed the opportunities it provided for traveling the country and learning together. Living in the small college town of Wilmore, KY until age 10, Nathan was involved in a multitude of co-op classes, swim team, basketball, and had hours of fun with friends. These years hold precious memories for all of our family, as we forged close family friendships and thoroughly enjoyed day to day life. The three kids were best buddies, something that continued throughout their lives.                                                                             

Basketball was a favorite activity during these years and Nathan sometimes slept with his
basketball tucked under his arm. Anything outdoors was also a hit. He was an explorer, cowboy boots and coonskin cap as his usual attire. Our family loved to hike and tent camp and our memorable trips included cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents, unexpected snow (while in a tent), a flooded boy scout adventure, and encounters with a variety of wild life. While hiking, Nathan was always way ahead, so much that we teased that his name was “Nathan Wait.”

He owned a cap gun but what he really wanted was a BB gun. Knowing it would likely never happen, I confidently told him, “If we ever live on a farm, THEN you can have a BB gun.” Unbelievably, when Nathan was 10, we moved to a farm in Indiana. I had completely forgotten the promise….but he hadn’t. With trepidation, we kept the promise and found that he was a master at shooting tin cans from fence posts and having adventures in the fields adjacent to our home. After he heard a story about silver being buried on the property, he bought a metal detector and went to work. The silver was never found, but a variety of interesting metal objects were unearthed. We had a huge fire pit in the back field and a DIY above ground pool. It was also the perfect place for a remote control plane, another dream of Nathan’s. You can read more about the very memorable first flight in an article Megan wrote for the Magnum Opus Magazine.          

One of the most important parts of Nathan’s life from birth was his relationship with cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents in North Carolina, Ohio, Indiana and Chicago. We always gathered for holidays and special events but also enjoyed camping trips, beach vacations, and every chance to be together. The cousins made movies (which are treasures now), played board games, attended basketball camp together, went to each other’s extracurricular activities, celebrated birthdays, dreamed up inventions, supported each other, and the list goes on and on. Cousins were so special to our three kids, often seeming more like siblings than cousins. They were and still are close friends.

Also while living in Indiana, Nathan played PAL league baseball and basketball on the Huntington Eagles team, even enjoying two trips to the National Homeschool Basketball Championship in OKC. We recently found a copy of the first Christmas letter we ever wrote, back in 2005.

Here is the paragraph that we wrote about Nathan. 

Nathan, 15, is a freshman, and is our “in-house computer guru.” Anyone with a problem can turn to him and he will usually have an answer. He also plays guard on the Huntington Home Educators varsity basketball team. Last season, he was awarded the defensive player of the year award for the junior high and junior varsity teams. He was also awarded a Christian character award at the homeschool national basketball tournament in Oklahoma City last March, where his team finished as national runners-up in their division. When he is not playing ball, or computer programming and game developing, he will most likely be found with his nose buried in a book. Exploring the possibility of being a missionary pilot, he plans to begin flight lessons in the spring and will be assisting a local pilot building a small passenger plan this winter.

As a freshman, he became very interested in computer programming. Nathan described his journey in his blogpost that you can read here, a journey that led him to develop a love for robotics and technology.

Another childhood dream was that of being a pilot. As a little boy, he read the story of Nate Saint, The Fate of the Yellow Woodbee, and wanted to be a missionary pilot. The picture below was taken during a tour of JAARS. I remember that trip well. After a tour of the facility, Nathan had the opportunity to go up in a small plane, something he’d never done before. If you’ve never flown in a little plane, you might not realize how rocky the ride is. Many people never venture there again. We figured it would either eliminate the dream or solidify it. After landing, he emerged from the little plane with a giant grin on his face, ready to tackle the challenge.

Scrubbing planes at the Huntington Municipal Airport in exchange for flight lessons, Nathan was an eager and adept student. Gary and I remember the look of sheer delight on his face when we’d pick him up after a lesson, and the surprising revelation that he had done his first solo flight. (It was probably better that we didn’t know it was happening!) That led to many more solo flights and certification before he could even drive a car.

During his sophomore and junior years, he was heavily involved in First Robotics Team 1501. In 2008, our family moved to Virginia, primarily because Nathan’s health was declining–multiple doctors and specialists believed it was due to allergies.

During the summer of 2010, he built a CNC machine–and many other techy projects followed. He posted a Youtube video of it working and a blog with details and code so others could build one as well. Nathan attended college at Liberty University and without a doubt, the highlight of his years there was the robotics club he co-founded. 

Throughout his college years, we had wonderful times as a family, with extended family and with friends. Game nights at our house with a host of friends was one highlight for Gary and me, and vacationing as a family created memories for which we are so grateful. Ryan, Megan, and Nathan spent countless hours together, with friends and with extended family. Often at Nathan’s suggestion, we watched many family movies, a few TV series he enjoyed, and played board games together. 

I’m discovering that the amount of things I want to share just isn’t practical for a website as it would take too long for anyone to read. And I have literally thousands of pictures that were taken through the years–all that tell a story of a family who loved and cherished each other. I can’t find the words to express how thankful we are for Nathan’s life and how much we miss him.