Nicholas Lee Whittle

My brother was born January 25th, 1991. He was premature and had many complications from the beginning. He was small and weak, something I liked to remind him of regularly...but he was a fighter, and he finally, after months, fought his way to our home. But that's where the fighting really began.

Nick came home to two siblings Gary (Buddy) and Shannon. Who were 5 and 10 years older than him...and we did our fair share of torturing our younger sibling.

We would often hide in the bathroom and make him think we had been sucked down the toilet, just to watch him stick his hand, toy, or whatever he could find down the drain to rescue us. All the while assuring us to hold on, it would be ok, he would save us. This little prank backfired as it made him afraid to use the bathroom alone and made us wipe his butt until he was five...something we joked about often, reminding him we didn't do a good job with it.

He was a very cute kid, inquisitive, outgoing, smart, and had the curliest hair...which we should get partial credit for as we would spend entire drives curling his hair around our fingers to keep him calm.

He eventually grew to enjoy road trips, and we did them often with our mother (Teresa) and Father (Gary). Later in life he would take many road trips with his family and by himself, some of which led to the highest points in the country.

He was a techy kid, always building some robot or vehicle out of old fan motors and empty dip cans. He took to video games and computers and actually taught me how to use a smartphone, mocking how I couldn't use my thumbs right the whole time. This side of him led to a love for movies...especially marvel movies, so much so he went to school and successfully completed film and photography.

He was a lover of animals...never found a stray he didn't try to save. If you were to dig in my dad’s back yard, you would think we lived on top of some ancient animal burial ground. Some of those animals were just found on the side of the road that he wanted to give a proper burial.

He was caring and nurturing and a complete empath. In our later years he would care for both our mother and our father. He was a loving son, brother, uncle, and pet owner.

Over the years he grew into a man who always kept his playful spirit. He was just as rowdy as me growing up, but always managed to charm his way out of serious trouble. We were boys and did boy things. This extended to our adult lives, so much so we were on edge around each other, knowing a nut check was not just possible, but probable at any moment.

Nick went into the hospital for something we thought would be minor. At a heartbreaking 32 years old, things deteriorated quickly. I said earlier I liked to remind him he was smaller and weaker, but boy did he put up a hell of a fight. It was surprising to me he fought for as long and as hard as he did, Nick delivered the final nut check when he ultimately lost the fight on August 7, 2023. We never lost hope and even at the end, I fully expected him to wake up and make some dark humor joke, but it wasn't to be. Nick has gone on to look after our mother and other loved ones we lost and be reunited with all his pets from along the way. He will be missed, but he will not be forgotten. If you are reading this now, I am positive you have your own story of his kindness. We love you, Nick.