March 23, 2021
March 23, 2021
On September 3rd, 2020 we lost our precious son Niel. Our hearts are broken without him. Niel is loved profoundly and missed more than words can say. Niel was, and will always be a cherished blessing in our lives. He had his own special brand of sunshine, and if you knew him…you loved him. Niel had a way of making everyone feel special. That was his superpower…he loved with his whole heart. We will forever miss his radiant smile and the warmth of his vibrant soul. He was and will always be a beloved son and brother…a treasured grandson, nephew, and cousin…and a special friend. Niel was friends with everyone; he could make friends easily and usually did. We would often see him talking to a stranger like they were life-long friends. When asked how he knew this person, he would say that he didn’t…he had just met them. That was our boy! Niel was welcoming to all…everyone was worthy of being his friend. People were drawn to his warmth and good nature. He was so very loved and cherished by his family and friends. On this site we will do our best to share with you Niel’s love of life, his beautiful story, his sense of humor, his amazing heart, and his wonderful soul. There are so many things Niel loved…his “fam”, his little brother Nick, his puppy Max, his friends, celebrating holidays and birthdays, SPORTS of any kind, his COUGS, his Seahawks, traveling, FOOD, holidays, boating, wakeboarding, snowboarding, music, and going on any adventure. He loved life and lived to the fullest. Our sweet son is with his beloved grandpa and his dog Max now. I know that heaven is a more joyful place with him in it. Niel blessed this world and blessed our family more that we could ever tell you…but we will try with stories and pictures of him on this site. If you love and adore Niel like we do, please add your stories here. The only relief from the loss of our son is sharing him with others and having them share back with us. Forever missed but never forgotten. Love always sweet man.
A Mother’s Tribute:
Every single day I will keep all the wonderful memories of Niel tucked deeply in my heart. His beautiful smile, his sweet nature, his wicked sense of humor, his joyful laugh, and his kind and compassionate heart will all be profoundly missed for as long as I live. I will forever honor him and remember what a sacred blessing it was to be his mom. Niel and I would always say to each other…I love you to the moon and back. That was our special way of expressing how much we loved each other. Niel brought overwhelming joy to me the moment I held him when he was only eight days old. Although he was adopted, Niel could not have been more loved than if I had given birth to him myself. When I looked into those big brown eyes, his little soul spoke to my heart, and I felt the bond of mother and son cement into place. That bond is what holds me up through this most unbearable loss. I’m not sure what I did to be so blessed to have been his momma, but I will be eternally grateful for the honor that was given to me. Niel was a pure bundle of joy as a baby! He smiled and laughed most all the time and was easily comforted when he did cry. Growing up, he remained the same happy soul and was a never-ending source of joy to our family. We called him “Buddy” because he was our buddy. I took him everywhere and he was such a good little guy…never cross…always happy. I called him my sunshine boy…he was so loving and affectionate. When Niel was a teenager he was a self-proclaimed momma’s boy and proud of it. How I loved that! The teenage years can be challenging, but with Niel, it was pure joy! As Niel grew into manhood, he stayed true to his nature; he was a fun-loving happy soul with a beautiful smile! What a treasure he was and will always be! How can I say good-bye to my Baby Niel, my Buddy, my sunshine boy, and my cherished son? I can’t, so I will say…I love you to the moon and back sweet man. You’re my heart Bud…you will be forever missed…until I see you again. Love Mom XOXO
A Father’s Tribute:
I first met Niel when he was 4. I was playing flag football against his mom and he was sitting on the sideline being such a good boy. I was shocked at how well behaved a 4-year-old could be. While dating his mom I felt like I spent as much time with Niel as I did Tammy. He was just so easy going and fun; being around him was a joy. We loved getting Little Caesars/Round Table pizza, Slurpee’s, and just about anything else that was bad for us. Shhhhhh! Don’t tell mom. He played soccer, football, and baseball while he was growing up. He loved every minute of it except one time playing soccer when the coach put him in at goalie. It was cold, rainy, and windy. He never got any action and by the end of the game I could see him crying because he was so cold. It broke my heart to see that, so I opened my coat, brought him in and held him tight to get him warm. That was the moment I knew he was my boy, my buddy, my pal. We had a tradition growing up of going out to breakfast the first day of school each year and then driving the kids to school for a picture of the first day. While all the kids loved the breakfast, Niel was the only one who loved getting his picture taken at school, even up to his senior year. He did not care what anyone thought seeing mom and dad taking pictures. Niel loved helping me with projects and learning how to do just about anything I was doing. Well, until high school and then he just wanted to be with his friends and sleep. Even up to the last year of his life he was helping me with projects like remodeling the Master Bathroom. He was such a great help, but he was a bit slow. We always laughed about that. I would try to rush through things and make mistakes and he would just be slow and steady. I would tease him that if he were going any slower, he would be going backwards. He would just remind me that going slow took the same amount of time as doing it twice like me. I would always start my conversations with him “hey buddy,” and he would always say “hey my man!” The very last text I received from him the day before he passed away was “Thanks my man!”
I love you Buddy and I miss you more than you could ever imagine! Dad
A Mother’s Tribute:
Every single day I will keep all the wonderful memories of Niel tucked deeply in my heart. His beautiful smile, his sweet nature, his wicked sense of humor, his joyful laugh, and his kind and compassionate heart will all be profoundly missed for as long as I live. I will forever honor him and remember what a sacred blessing it was to be his mom. Niel and I would always say to each other…I love you to the moon and back. That was our special way of expressing how much we loved each other. Niel brought overwhelming joy to me the moment I held him when he was only eight days old. Although he was adopted, Niel could not have been more loved than if I had given birth to him myself. When I looked into those big brown eyes, his little soul spoke to my heart, and I felt the bond of mother and son cement into place. That bond is what holds me up through this most unbearable loss. I’m not sure what I did to be so blessed to have been his momma, but I will be eternally grateful for the honor that was given to me. Niel was a pure bundle of joy as a baby! He smiled and laughed most all the time and was easily comforted when he did cry. Growing up, he remained the same happy soul and was a never-ending source of joy to our family. We called him “Buddy” because he was our buddy. I took him everywhere and he was such a good little guy…never cross…always happy. I called him my sunshine boy…he was so loving and affectionate. When Niel was a teenager he was a self-proclaimed momma’s boy and proud of it. How I loved that! The teenage years can be challenging, but with Niel, it was pure joy! As Niel grew into manhood, he stayed true to his nature; he was a fun-loving happy soul with a beautiful smile! What a treasure he was and will always be! How can I say good-bye to my Baby Niel, my Buddy, my sunshine boy, and my cherished son? I can’t, so I will say…I love you to the moon and back sweet man. You’re my heart Bud…you will be forever missed…until I see you again. Love Mom XOXO
A Father’s Tribute:
I first met Niel when he was 4. I was playing flag football against his mom and he was sitting on the sideline being such a good boy. I was shocked at how well behaved a 4-year-old could be. While dating his mom I felt like I spent as much time with Niel as I did Tammy. He was just so easy going and fun; being around him was a joy. We loved getting Little Caesars/Round Table pizza, Slurpee’s, and just about anything else that was bad for us. Shhhhhh! Don’t tell mom. He played soccer, football, and baseball while he was growing up. He loved every minute of it except one time playing soccer when the coach put him in at goalie. It was cold, rainy, and windy. He never got any action and by the end of the game I could see him crying because he was so cold. It broke my heart to see that, so I opened my coat, brought him in and held him tight to get him warm. That was the moment I knew he was my boy, my buddy, my pal. We had a tradition growing up of going out to breakfast the first day of school each year and then driving the kids to school for a picture of the first day. While all the kids loved the breakfast, Niel was the only one who loved getting his picture taken at school, even up to his senior year. He did not care what anyone thought seeing mom and dad taking pictures. Niel loved helping me with projects and learning how to do just about anything I was doing. Well, until high school and then he just wanted to be with his friends and sleep. Even up to the last year of his life he was helping me with projects like remodeling the Master Bathroom. He was such a great help, but he was a bit slow. We always laughed about that. I would try to rush through things and make mistakes and he would just be slow and steady. I would tease him that if he were going any slower, he would be going backwards. He would just remind me that going slow took the same amount of time as doing it twice like me. I would always start my conversations with him “hey buddy,” and he would always say “hey my man!” The very last text I received from him the day before he passed away was “Thanks my man!”
I love you Buddy and I miss you more than you could ever imagine! Dad
