Obituary of Nathaniel Alexander Avery

Nathaniel (Nathan/Nate) Alexander Avery, born September 15, 2004 at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ypsilanti, prematurely left this world on December 17, 2020. Nathan suffered from anxiety, depression, and OCD that led him to impulsively and tragically act on feelings of hopelessness that he felt would never end, leaving us gutted and heartbroken, but better for having had him in our lives. He was loved by all those who knew him, and he will be forever missed. Prior to the pandemic, Nathan enjoyed traveling to different places in the US with his family like Washington DC, the Grand Canyon, California, and Yellowstone to name a few. He was no stranger to the State of Michigan and appreciated going up to the Upper Peninsula. He was very excited about the scheduled trip to Europe with a school group to see Poland, Germany, Hungary, and Romania that was unfortunately postponed due to the pandemic. Last year, as a trumpet playing member of the Lincoln Consolidated High School Marching Band, he travelled to Florida to march at Disney World. This trip resulted in Nathan acquiring a lightsaber after visiting Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. When he wasn’t attending school, Nathan liked watching shows like the Mandolorian, Star Wars, Malcom in the Middle, The Simpsons, and playing video games online with people around the world as well as the game Among Us where he had fun trying to strategically lead other players astray. He also enjoyed being outdoors in the woods up north, zip-lining, running 5k’s, and helping at the animal shelter. He was a big animal lover. He especially loved the dogs he had at both parents’ houses as well as birds, wild and captive. His favorite chickens were Buford, the Dark Brahma rooster; Princess BeBee, Buford’s daughter; and Splash, a little Silkie rooster. Regal, his grandmother’s African Gray parrot, loves Nathan and calls for him frequently. Nathan’s favorite animal is the Platypus and he had hoped to have one someday. Nathan excelled at math and chemistry. He was extremely curious about everything, especially enjoying disassembling things, setting his carpet on fire, and mixing chemicals. He enjoyed solving puzzle devices and helping with remodeling projects. Nathaniel had talked about wanting to become a mechanical engineer. Nathan is survived by his parents and brother, Christy A. MacDermid-Avery, Samuel P. Avery III, and Christopher A. Avery; Luke Christy, son of his father’s significant other; his maternal grandmother, Dianne Devens; his maternal grandfather, James (Christina) Eaton; his paternal grandmother, Karen Avery; his paternal great uncle, Clifford Avery; his paternal aunts, Fran (Eric) Kuhnen, Erin (Adrien) Antaya; maternal uncles, Vince (Janene) White, Brad White; and cousins, Robin, Victoria, Elizabeth, Allison, Dan, and Malena. He was preceded in death by his paternal great grandmother, Frances (Thomas) Peebles; maternal great grandmothers, Letha (Henry) MacDermid and Pearl (Philip) Eaton; paternal grandfather, Samuel P. Avery II; maternal step grandfather, Douglas A Devens; maternal aunt, Debbie White; and Lin Haughton, his father’s significant other. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, June 17, 2021 at 6:30pm at Lincoln Consolidated High School Athletic Building in Ypsilanti. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Lincoln Consolidate High School Marching Band (https://lincolnbandboosters.square.site), the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) (https://www.nami.org/Home) or the National Center for the Prevention of Youth Suicide (https://www.preventyouthsuicide.org/donate-index-impact)