In Loving Memory of

In Loving Memory of

Ryan David Nichols
2/2/1996 - 5/3/2018

We still find words inadequate to describe the immeasurable pain that we have all endured since losing you.
While your loving, kind and fun spirit will always live in our hearts, our love without your hugs, your “I love you’ s”, your laugh and
smile is a heartache that never abates.
Your loss created holes in so many hearts. That this happened to you proved that it can happen to anyone, and with that, you have
improved some lives even more. The unthinkable, the unfathomable, will always be so surreal to everyone you touched. It just can’t
be that you’re not physically here with us. We were so proud of the boy you were and the young man you had become. You had so
many innate qualities that made you special...ones that aren’t taught. You were too good, too happy, too kind and had too much
potential to not be personally continuing to make the world better for decades to come.
We have to find some comfort in knowing that You will always live on in so many that you touched in your twenty-two years:

In Loving Memory of a beloved twin brother
and son who passed away 4 years ago.

Your entire extended family who loved being part of your life.
Many great family friends who were like aunts and uncles to you from Day One.
Fellow students and teachers you befriended throughout elementary school and high school. Fellow students from all over the
world, and even professors you befriended, in business school at university.
Teammates on all your baseball, basketball, football and hockey teams over the years…even some players from other towns with
whom you formed continued relationships for many subsequent years.
Bonds with neighbors and continued bonds with former neighbors.
Co-workers and customers at Hannaford over six years who complimented you then, and compliment you now. A young lady you
worked with expressing that you were such a “beautiful person”.
Co-workers at Vermont Lake Monsters and Vermont State Parks.
So many great memories for so many people, all of whom have shared that they will always hold you in such high regard.
Loved ones and great friends having tattoos in your honor. Friends having vivid dreams of you interacting with them. A great friend
writing a song in your honor. A young co-worker legally changing his middle name to Ryan to honor you. The new owner of our last
home planting a Maple Tree in your honor.
So many of us will always remember the “inside jokes” or “catch phrases” we had with you, inevitably resulting in that wonderful
contagious laugh. We know that you are still laughing and smiling with us when those come to mind.
Even with the bottomless grief that we feel…the heartbreak and devastation, let us continue to hold Ryan’s spirit so preciously and
allow it to work through us to make our lives, and by extension, others’ lives better.
Take some comfort knowing that his twenty-two years were filled with so much laughter, peace and love. He will always be loved
by so many people. He achieved and experienced so much and was such an amazing person in his twenty-two years, but we will
never get the chance to see how much more Ryan could have done.
We are immensely blessed to be his parents, his brother, his relatives and his friends.
Ryan, you taught us so much…an old soul with maturity and wisdom well beyond your years…an incredible young man who had
so much to offer. We all lost out when we lost you, Ryan. Your amazing sense of humor and quick wit made you even more lovable.
Having friends from seven different decades, of so many different nationalities and races, spoke volumes to your character and
integrity and also to the strength of your relationships and bonds. You are the driving force that gets us through each day as you made
us better with your kindness, wisdom and gentle demeanor. You were a special young man. As we emulate as many of your qualities
as possible, you continue to live on and make this world a better place. Ryan, we can still hear your deep, long, contagious laugh
several times a day. Your voice and your warmth ever present. Your awesome smile and beautiful eyes, etched in our minds forever.
We feel your absence in everything we do. You are so greatly missed. We love you Ryan. You are always with us.

									- Alex, Mom and Dad