Sep 19, 2018 5 min read

RICES LANDING – A promising life cut short.

Nicholas Hillsman, a 2016 graduate of Jefferson-Morgan High School, was killed in a car crash Aug. 16, 2017. He was 19.

The family is planning a memorial motorcycle ride Saturday to raise funds for juvenile diabetes research in his honor.

“If you knew him and see just how much that he was actually cheated out of life … his life cut so short. He was cheated out of so much,” said his father, Greg.

Since his death, family and friends say life has been miserable without Nicholas. Greg and stepmother, Bonnie, said in a recent interview that Nicholas was a big part of everyone’s lives, a one-of-a-kind person. Things aren’t as fun without him.

“It’s gut-wrenching. It’s agonizing. It’s just pure hell every day. There’s just not a minute…” Greg trails off, overcome by emotion.

“Life has changed. The day he died, our lives changed forever,” Bonnie adds. Though Nicholas was not her biological son, the two were incredibly close.

From the time he could walk, Greg said his son wanted to enter the military. Just before Nicholas turned 16, he was diagnosed with Type 1 juvenile diabetes, dashing his dreams.

“He was kind of bummed, of course,” Greg said, adding that his son was a “true blue American,” with a heart that just longed to give back and serve his country.

His goal was to work for a contract company that aided the government with security that had no such restrictions.

The family is donating the proceeds from the ride to help find a cure for juvenile diabetes, something they know Nicholas would have wanted, so that another child may have the opportunity for an artificial pancreas.

“There would have been a cure (in his lifetime). That’s how close they are,” Greg said.

Nicholas loved hockey, always searching for a frozen pond in the winter to skate on. Greg said when Nicholas got his first pair of rollerblades, it was like a toddler learning to walk but soon got the hang of it.

Like any teenager, Nicholas could be a little defiant but had a lot of life left to live. He loved guns, computer games and Cummins engines. He was a history buff that local radio host Doug Wilson, also a university professor and historic reenactor, could not best.

“He knew it, he was a walking history book,” Greg said of any fact he might ask his son about. If it was about hockey or history, Nicholas knew it.

He was enthusiastic about the things he loved, putting his heart and soul into whatever he wanted to do. A wealth of information and knowledge was lost. Those that didn’t have the pleasure of knowing him missed out, Bonnie said.

Nicholas was a family-oriented son, always encouraging dinners together. His young niece and nephew, just 1 and 2 years old when Nicholas died, were impacted by the loss. Siblings, especially his sister, who he was particularly close with, were devastated.

“She struggles every day,” Bonnie said of his sister, Emily.

“I can’t emphasize enough how lost that girl is,” Greg added.

Nicholas also had a major impact on his friends, like his closest confidant, Tristan Wright. Wright will enlist as an Army Ranger, what Nicholas always dreamed of doing, after finishing a tour in the Marines in his honor. Nicholas was the designated driver of his group of friends, responsible and one of the youngest of those he ran around with. They all treated him like a little brother. Everyone was his “bud.”

“He was there when it counted. He had our backs,” Greg said.

“It didn’t just happen to us. It happened to the whole community,” Bonnie said. “It’s a community’s loss.”

Nicholas was working at Barnhart Honda at the time of his crash, headed back to his shift. His dad said that he was just transitioning into the rest of his life, figuring out who he wanted to be and what he wanted to do.

“He’s left a big hole in all of our lives,” Bonnie said, adding that people can sympathize but can never truly understand the pain of losing a child. “You have no idea what it’s like until it happens to you.”

Now, they spend each day honoring his memory. Some small things always reminds them of Nicholas.

Though it’s still hard, Greg said it took him about six months after his son’s death to laugh, and a fog began to lift after the first anniversary passed in August. Now, the community’s support of the ride is giving them hope.

Because of the overwhelming response ahead of the event – Greg said he was only expecting around 20 to 40 initially but that number quickly swelled to 400 – the dinner afterward needed to be moved from the family home to the fairgrounds to accommodate such a large crowd.

“It’s out of control, but it’s worth it,” Greg said.

He added that he really shouldn’t have been surprised, as the funeral drew a crowd of over 600 with a steady flow of people all day. But the response has been deeply touching all the same.

If you go

Registration begins at 10 a.m. Saturday with kickstands up at noon. To register ahead of the ride or for more information, call 724-986-9041 or email ghillsman66@gmail.com. The ride is sponsored by and begins at Barnhart’s Honda.

A dinner and auction at the Greene County Fairgrounds around 5 p.m. will follow. Cost is $20 per rider and $10 for a second ricer or non-rider. Proceeds will be donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.