This memorial website was created in the memory of my son, Nicolas Tish, who was born in Thibodaux, Louisiana on July 12, 1983 and passed away on September 24, 2005 at the age of 22. Nic was my son, my friend, my rock. He taught me how to be a Dad.
25 Years / Dad
It was 25 years ago yesterday that you came into my life. I remember the first time I saw you - all wrapped in blankets with that jet black hair sticking out. God - you were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
True story - In December of 2006,...
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Two years today / Jeremy Lawton (Friend)
It was two years ago today that everyone lost you. It still seems like it isnt even real. There isnt a day that doesnt go by that i dont think about you and wish things would have turned out differently that night. I miss you man, a...
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It's been a long time since I've visited this page. It's the only way I can visit you, since I live a long way from Wisconsin. I know I wasn't a big presence in your life, and there were a lot of reasons for that. I always thought the...
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Air Harp / Ronald Tish (Uncle)
Aloha Nick,
I thought I had written something for Aunty Boots and I to you and left it on your memorial site that your family designed for you ol buddy, but I couldn't find it on my revisit to your memorial.
I am so sad that we didn't have mor...
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Hey Buddy... / Dad (Dad)
Hey
It has been awhile. Sorry about the dry spell.
I visit you often. I stand there, staring at your name etched into the black granite and I can still hear you laugh. I can see the twinkle in your eyes as you crack some goofy j...
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Nic was my son and my rock I sit here, pondering my life as it is now ...
My son, the boy who became the man who became my best friend and my rock, is gone from this world. He was taken from me just as he was beginning to see his life evolve to a place he had longed to reach for so long. He was there ...
...and now he is gone.
But all is not lost. For he lives now - forever 22 and laughing - in my heart. The really cool thing is that HE showed me how to do that - he showed me how to be a Dad.
When Nic was born, I was terrified. I had no idea how to parent. I was so afraid I would screw it up so bad. And I did. So many times...
But Nic was always there - there with that big, goofy grin - always there to show me the way out of my fear (and occassional stupidity). And every time I had messed up being a Dad so bad, he was there to hug me and tell me that it was ok, that he still loved me and that I was still his Dad. And he made sure that I knew that and that he was not going to accept anything else from me.
The night he died, he came to my house and had dinner with me. We chatted for awhile and then he stood up to leave. "Goin' to play pool with some friends - be back later..." he said. Then, out of the clear blue, with no warning and in a way unique to my son, he grabbed me and said (with that big, goofy grin...)
"Give your son a hug."
I did, he left and that was that.
Even on his last day he was teaching me the lessons of love only a son can teach. Hug your parents.
So that is the legacy of my son - hug your parents. Never give up on them even when they are being as dumb as a box of rocks.
And always have a big, goofy grin on - it is amazing the power it holds.
Thanks Nic. Thanks for caring enough to not lose patience and for teaching me how to be a Dad.
Tributes and Condolences
