Wahoo Public Schools Logo

District and Community Mourn Another Tragic Student Loss

WHS Loses a Caring, Positive Role Model from Its Freshman Class

April 09, 2006

Students of Wahoo Public Schools are once again trying to come to grips with the sorrow of another tragic loss. WHS freshman Nick Peters was fatally injured in a one-car rollover accident on Saturday evening, April 8, on a county road north and east of Wahoo.

Nick was the son of Kelly and James MacMillan of Wahoo, and Howard Peters of Bradshaw, Nebraska, and the brother of Megan Peters, a fifth grader at Wahoo Elementary. Nick also has a step-brother, Sean MacMillan, an eighth grader at Wahoo Middle School, and a step-sister, Samantha MacMillan, a third grader in Valley.

Nick was known for his care-free personality; someone who was kind to everyone. Nick was actively involved on the WHS track team, and was a member of FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes). He also had a passion for anything country-western, including music and clothing. Nick was well-known for always being decked out in his favorite cowboy boots, hat and belt buckle.

Nick's other passion was auto mechanics. Nick's ultimate goal was to someday purchase a red Ford F250 7.3 Diesel Stroker, but in the meantime he settled for a rusty red older model Ford F250, which he was in the process of remodeling.

One of Nick's former middle school teachers, John Harris, commented that God must have been in need of a mechanic.

Wahoo school counselors and staff, along with supportive help from area schools and local pastors, were available in the Wahoo High School Commons area and Board Room in the days following the accident. Students were openly invited to take advantage of this resource to assist in the grieving process.

There was a visitation and two services, all taking place at the First Presbyterian Church in Wahoo. The visitation was held on Wednesday, April 12, from 4:00-7:00 p.m. Immediately following the visitation was a tribute service, designated primarily for students and staff. Nick was remembered by friends and faculty members, who shared stories of their favorite memories with Nick. Kim Snyder, Nick's English 9 instructor, shared how flattered she was when almost daily Nick would enter her room with an enthusiastic "Mrs. Snyder, you're my favorite teacher!"; until she found out that Nick used that line with all of his teachers. When approached by Mrs. Snyder, Nick responded, "I know, but it works!"

A traditional funeral service, also at First Presbyterian, was held on Thursday morning, April 13, at 10:30 a.m., officiated by Rev. Patrick Marshall and Rev. Doug Smith. Music used for the service included "The Lord's Prayer," performed by the Lincoln Continentals, "Who You'd Be Today" by Kenney Chesney, and "Lord Prepare Me To Be a Sanctuary," sung by the Wahoo High School FCA.

Finally, Nick was laid to rest at a 2:30 p.m. graveside service at Greewood Cemetery in York, NE.

Anyone who wishes to share thoughts or fond memories of Nick may add his/her comments to this article below, either by attaching a "Feedback" to this page, or by sending an e-mail to dprivett@esu2.org.

-------------------------

Sam Timm & Danielle Shukis: "Something you need to know about Nick Peters . . . Coffee. He loved coffee! On the April 8 Wahoo track meet Nick was walking around the track with a big cup of Burger King coffee and Cookies and Cream sugar mix.
Those boots! He would always tuck his jeans down in his pants after track practice and walk around with his shoes untied.
That ugly cow-hide billfold. He would never have to worry about people taking his wallet because no one would touch that thing. We love you Nick."

Courtney Clifford: "I remember the day we had a snow day and Kari and I called Nick to go to BK with us. We ended up getting stuck in there for an hour. He had to go to work even though he didn't want to. Another one was when Kari, Nick, Dustin, and I were walking around and Kari and I went and hid from him. He saw me dash out of a tree and we heard him yell 'hey, found them!". Then he started running after us screaming at us to get back to him. In 8th grade when he first started to dress up as a cowboy, I remember saying to him, 'hey Nick, what'd you do, get hit with the cowboy up stick?' There are too many other memories to name."

Molly Jones: "I remember when you were complaining about not having anything to do in study hall, so Mrs. Snyder called Mrs. Shanahan and told her to make you study your English. So everyday she made you study and you wound up being the only one in our small but mighty English class to get an 'A'. And I remember in P.E. how you walked around with your long sock rolled down because you had on boots. And of our basketball games, how it was more pushing and shoving than actual playing basketball. And how you really wanted to go cow tipping. I am not sure if you ever did, but I hope you get to up there in heaven. Cowboy up Nick (don't hit others with your cowboy up stick. Heaven only needs one rural cowboy)." 

Cassie Buckmaster: "Go get cow. I'll miss ya. Love ya."

Justine Wood: "The one memory I will forever have in my heart is the night you came over and you had fixed your ride, so I walked out there and you had duct-taped your seat together just so you could give me the ride of my life! We tried out your new ride and we made it half way down the street, and it broke, and you said '[darn] I knew I should have put more duct tape there!' It was the best ten-second ride of my life, even though you didn't know whether you wanted to be a cowboy or a little gangster! By the end of the night your do rag was off and your cowboy hat was on.    
No matter how mean someone was to you, you always found a place in your heart to love them! We love you, and no one will forget how big your heart was!"

Dustin Jirovsky: "I remember when you got your truck. You loved that thing. You never wanted to leave that thing. I remember that day during the summer and you fell into that trailer and hurt your leg. Yesterday when I played paintball it was awesome. Your gun worked great! I wish you would have been there. I remember you, Drew, Colten, and I in life skills would never do any work and we had so much fun. It will never be as much fun without you. I will never forget you."

Janelle Jansa: "I remember when me and him were in first period together. We never worked. He always told me when he gets his Big Red Truck he was gonna take me shopping. He even said I could drive it!"

Amy O'Sullivan: "I remember just about a week and a half ago at the track meet. You, me, Ashley, and Skylar were talking bout . . . well, you know what. And when everyone else was out doing their events, we sat and ate chocolate chip teddy grams. That was fun! We weren't close friends, but this year, you and me became friends. P.E. is gonna be boring and algebra is gonna be quiet! I'll pray for you, your family, and all the friends you had. And you said you'd come pull weeds for me. When I that chore in the summer, I'll think of you."

Jordan Triplett: "I remember the first time you played SLAM-BALL. You had on your cowboy boots, and you were so out-of-shape. By the time you got done you were dying of thirst and you ran to our hose and drank, and a bug flew in your mouth. It was sooo funny!!"

Kyle Willis: "I remember when you, Sean, and me always went out and shot the bow and arrow. Then we went to go and shoot some squirrels out of trees. We almost got one. Good times."

Matt Tomjack: "Nick man . . . I guess this cancels our plans for the summer? What all did we have planned besides fishing, getting me decked out in cowboy gear, and lookin forward to the truck pull? Man . . . who am I supposed to pull pranks on at the Niobrara now? Maybe I'll have to head to the fort . . . buy myself a hat, in your memory of course. Remember when would spend all of our study hall thinking of ways to make a boring class fun? Haha, we had some good ones. Dude . . . we're gonna miss you, but I'm sure you and Tim are gonna be having some fun . . ."

Barb Shanahan, WHS Instructor: "Nick Peters was one of the most kind, soft-spoken, warm-hearted students I have ever had the pleasure of having in class. There wasn't a day that went by, that I didn't look forward to seeing him. I never, ever saw him in a bad mood or without a smile on his face. Even if he was complaining, usually about Ms. Schmidt and myself making him study, he did so with a smile on his face, and then he would apologize for complaining! He was polite and showed respect to everyone around him. It is going to be extremely difficult without him. My heartfelt sympathy goes out to his parents, family, fellow teachers, and friends."

Elizabeth Harders: "I will never forget you, Nick. Study Hall was so quiet today without you. I miss talking to you, laughing, and teasing. You always gave me a hard time for being a blonde. I remember how much fun we had driving around that one night, just talking and listening to music in what you called my 'grandma car'. I wish we could have driven around one last time.
p.s. Sorry I wasn't able to take you to Pizza Hut on your Sweet 16 like I promised. I miss and love you lots!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Grandpa Bob (Murphey): "In reviewing the Wahoo Public Schools web site, I am blown away by the wisdom of the many classmates of my grandson and my personal hero.
We are being told by many that our educational system in this country is behind and we need to bring it up to speed. I on the other hand know these kids are among the brightest people in the world. You see, it is we adults that are to fault. We are so busy satisfying our own egos, we don't take the time to listen and share with our own children.
We would rather give them gadgets to keep them occupied and out of our way so we can go on feeding our egos and watching the income reducer - You know it is otherwise called a TV. Empty and false promises made by we adults to our children are dream killers. For example: 'Go on honey, we'll do it this weekend . . . Really, oh I am sorry, we'll do it next weekend.'
Remember, the definition for ego is 'edging God out.'
For you kids, I want you to know how much Nicholas always bragged on you. He really did. We talked often about how much all of you mattered to him.
I challenge each and everyone of you to put God first in your life, get your focus and vision for the future, listen to your mentors (your teachers) and become the successful leaders of tomorrow we know you are. Don't be sorry for us, but rather love each other enjoying the sunshine of life. Treasure your time together because in the end only your love will stand the test of time.
Being a grandpa, to Nicholas, is the greatest reward God has ever given me. I pray that I am worthy and that Nicholas knows it."

Stephanie Swanson: "I'm really sorry about what happened and I know that you and my brother were good friends, and I'm sorry! My family and I will miss you dearly and we're thinking and praying for you and your family!"

Ashley Seefeld (Bishop Neumann): "I'll never forget the last time I really actually hung out with Nick. It was at the fair, far too long ago. I was standing in front of the 'octopus' with some people, and here Nick comes walkin' over, and my friend (Kelly Bouc) said with much approving enthusiasm: 'What happened to Nick?! It looks like he got run over by a cowboy steamroller!!' . . . He was wearing his white cowboy hat of course, his belt buckle, and his jeans tucked into his boots as always . . . and I remember his shirt very clearly for some reason. It was a light yellow and light blue plaid shirt, with metallic white snaps for the buttons. I want to get one just like it. My only regret is not spending enough time with you Nick. God what I would give to sit on someone's front porch, just wasting the night away with you right there again . . . just once more. We had some good times, but not nearly enough. He'll be truly missed . . . far more than any words could possibly begin to describe."

Lindsey Osmera (your neighbor that loves you and will NEVER, EVER forget about you): "I loved Nick a lot, and I'm positive I wasn't the only one! Nick was my neighbor. He had a dalmation dog named Domino. I'll never forget that dog! One time me and Nick took Domino on a 'walk', I rode my bike and Nick rode his scooter, and he had Domino's leash in his hand and the dog was pulling him. He said to me, 'this is fun. You should try it!" I was like 'no thanks, I'll fall on my face', but he talked me into it, and so I took Domino and sure enough, before I even got onto the scooter Domino takes off, and he's pulling me so I'm running down the street yelling 'Nick stop your dog, HURRY!', and he's like 'just push the little button that stops the leash from going'. So I pushed it and I'm like "phew! Here ya go Nick. You can take the dog and I'll take the bike!' And I also remember helping him work on his little push-cart (he had like all of the neighbor friends help him) and he couldn't get the steering straight, so then we went to my dad's garage and got some tools to go and fix it. He was amazed by how many tools my dad had, so whenever he needed some tools, he knew where to borrow them, and he was ALWAYS good about returning them to him, too. One time he had this unique tool (I can't remember what tool it was though), but he's like 'I bet your dad doesn't have this tool', so we went into the garage and looked for one, and sure enough, we found one!
Nick loved his pickup truck! There was one day when Nick spent the whole day working on his truck. Whenever I looked or went outside, I saw him working on the red rusty Ford!
Nick was a GREAT friend! I will ALWAYS keep him in my heart and prayers! He always put a smile on my face! : ) If someone didn't really like Nick (which there 'ain't' many people that I know that don't like Nick) he would always find some place in his heart to love them! That is what I love about Nick. He was a loving, caring, cowboy man! Nick's heart was the size of his belt buckle (but only bigger)!
Cowboy up! GOD BLESS NICK AND HIS FAMILY!!"

Shelby Lynn Snyder (a friend and a neighbor): "Nick and I were not very close . . . even though we were neighbors. I would wave and say hello every now and then, and he would wave back. I will always miss riding my bike down the alley and seeing Nick outside in his cowboy hat and boots working on his truck . . . or, what he prefers it as, his pickup. When I first met Nick, I remember going up to his room and talking and looking at all the cars he had made. He would make bicycles all the time. One warm, sunny day I walked up to him and said, 'hey Nick! What are you doing?" and he would always say 'just working on my bike'. I asked him if he was looking for any new bikes to work on, and he was, so I asked him to come over and I gave him my first, purple bike. His eyes lit up when I gave him that bike, and he took it right home and started to work on it. We also used to walk his dog everyday. Once we were on a walk and of course the dog went, well you know, and we had to go get a bag and pick it up. It was so gross! It smelled so terrible, but if I could I would do it with Nick everyday. I now always think of Nick and how he had no reason to die. He was only 15. But then I started to realize that all things have a purpose. That Nick was to die for a certain reason. I still would like to know the reason. Was it because he was too nice? I will never know.
I am only 13. In fact, Nick died on my 13th birthday. Every year on my birthday I will not only think about me, but I will think about Nick; how much fun and how kind he was.
The day of Nick's funeral I told myself not to cry . . . to think of the good times we had together. But I couldn't. I couldn't stop from getting teary-eyed, and when I saw Kelly, Danny, and Megan all crying I couldn't help but cry also. No one deserves to go through all that pain.
Right as they walked past me, crying, I ran to my truck and balled for so long. I will always miss Nick, no matter what fights we would get into, or how much we would tease each other. Nick, I will always be there for you, and hopefully one day, in time, we will be together in heaven with God. With all my love."