Tyler Nelson

Our beautiful and beloved son, Tyler Patrick Nelson, 23, lost a battle with bipolar disorder and passed away July 11, 2017 at his home in Zillah, WA. He was born December 23, 1993, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Growing up in a military family, Tyler had the chance to live in Hawaii, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina and Washington state. He has hiked and explored many of the National and State Parks and other areas throughout his travels. He moved to Zillah in 2006 and Graduated from Zillah High School in 2012, where he enjoyed participating in drama, science club and robot competitions. He also participated in two plays with the Toppenish Creek Players, a community drama group. He so loved to make people laugh. He graduated near the top of his class, excelling in math and the hard sciences, and earned an academic scholarship to Walla Walla University to study Mechanical Engineering. Tyler had a huge heart for serving others and volunteered for a year-long mission to Ukraine to teach English. Upon returning, he continued to volunteer his time in Engineers Without Borders, tutoring his fellow students and assisting students in the engineering lab at the University. Tyler was due to graduate In December 2017 with his Bachelor’s degree. He loved the coast, the desert, the mountains and spending time outdoors. Hiking, fishing and enjoying nature were reflections of his respect for the planet we live on. We fondly remember that he truly enjoyed working with his hands and learning how things work. He regularly disassembled things around the house. Sometimes, he reassembled them before moving on to the next “project.” He always had multiple “projects” going on. Tyler was usually the smartest guy in the room. That was certainly true among family and friends. And he could tell great stories, most of which were true! He is survived by his father Eric Nelson, mother Kathryn Steitz, step-mother Sara Kindelspire, brother Michael, twin sister Abby, and step-siblings Derek and Baylie. We will miss your brilliant analytical mind, huge heart, infectious laugh, “magnificent” beard, corny engineering word puns and mostly, with excruciating pain, we will miss having you among us each and every day. You were taken from us way too early and the world would be a little brighter if you were still among us looking out for others! We would like to add a special thanks to professor Don Riley of Walla Walla University, his academic advisor and friend, for all that he did to love and support Tyler during his time there. A memorial service to celebrate the too-brief time on earth we had with Tyler will be held at the Zillah Seventh Day Adventist Church located at 202 5th Street in Zillah, WA, at 1:00 pm on Friday, July 21, followed by a potluck. A private grave-side blessing will be attended by family. In lieu of flowers, please donate to NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (www.nami.org), to help prevent these devastating tragedies in the future. 1 in 5 Americans live with mental illness. The family asks you to take the time to visit the tribute page for Tyler at www.valleyhillsfh.com and share any photos or video you have. Anything you would prefer to keep personal, please send to eric.r.nelson@charter.net. It would mean so much to all of us! To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Tyler Nelson, please visit our flower store.