Chaparral NM Funeral Homes
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Heart-felt tributes to honor a dear friend or loved one who has passed away
450 East Lisa Drive
Chaparral, NM 88081
(505) 824-3111
Chaparral NM Obituaries and Death Notices
Monday, January 30, 2017Those coaches who spoke were directly linked to Nelson’s athletic prowess, whether as a three-sport standout at Chaparral High or freshman running back at Missouri State, those who implored young friends and teammates gathered to live as Richard did, to lead with humility and aspire for greatness, to set goals and achieve them, to always use him as a reference for that which is kind and courageous and loyal.“You have your role model,” one coach said. “Honor him.”It was absolutely heartbreaking, every word, every syllable of every last story.We sent our eldest, a month older than Richard, off to college this year back East, and never have I believed something as I do the idea that love might mean letting go when all you want to do is hold on tighter. You yearn for the next phone call and become an authority on all things FaceTime. You constantly wonder where he is and what he is doing. You hold that Christmas break hug at the airport longer than any previous one.You let go, call him back and hug more.It’s impossible to understand the level of misery Roxanne Bruce felt as she held her dying son in her arms, his body riddled with bullets, one night before he was supposed to return to school in Springfield, Missouri, before they were supposed to enjoy one or several of those Christmas break hugs.I watched my parents, both now gone, for decades deal with the death of my 7-year old sister.They never really recover.They’re never really whole again.They never really stop staring off into the distance at the most unpredictable times.So it is through tragedy we were able to learn about a remarkable young man and the countless number of people he touched, his mother in writing a life sketch for the funeral describing him as a curious little boy, a gentle soul who hated conflict but who watched over his siblings.His brother, in a poem, telling Richard he is balled up inside screaming and crying, that he was his biggest star, that he now feels like a blind man wishing to see the other side, wishing to see his face just once more.When it came time for Missouri State head football coach Dave Steckel to speak, he defined what his program refers to as “Bear Up,” a slogan based on the team’s nickname and defined by things like encouragement and support and courage and resolve and work ethic.“From the short time we had Richard,” said an emotional Steckel, “he was the epitome of ‘Bear Up.’ ”The video played for nearly an hour as friends and family lined the middle aisle and proceeded slowly through that passageway of unfathomable...
Monday, January 23, 2017Richard Nelson had already found a way to stand out on Chaparral High School’s football team: He’d racked up the yards and the touchdowns and made second-team all-state. And when he saw a chance to get to the next level, college football, he seized it.At a memorial service Sunday afternoon, Missouri State University football recruiter Mack Brown remembered Nelson messaging him on Twitter and asking him to “give him a chance to play on the team.”The tweets, and tenacity, paid off. Brown recruited Nelson, who signed a letter of intent last winter to play football on a scholarship. Brown joined several coaches and friends to pay tribute to Nelson, who died Jan. 14 in a shooting as he tried to break up a fight to defend his sister.About 100 people gathered at Paradise Seventh-Day Adventist Church to remember the 18-year-old, whom coaches, friends and family described as a “life taken too soon.” Some attendees wore jerseys with No. 20, Nelson’s basketball and football number.“Most of us look for something to hold on to,” George Tuioti, defensiv...
Chaparral News
Monday, January 30, 2017Those coaches who spoke were directly linked to Nelson’s athletic prowess, whether as a three-sport standout at Chaparral High or freshman running back at Missouri State, those who implored young friends and teammates gathered to live as Richard did, to lead with humility and aspire for greatness, to set goals and achieve them, to always use him as a reference for that which is kind and courageous and loyal.“You have your role model,” one coach said. “Honor him.”It was absolutely heartbreaking, every word, every syllable of every last story.We sent our eldest, a month older than Richard, off to college this year back East, and never have I believed something as I do the idea that love might mean letting go when all you want to do is hold on tighter. You yearn for the next phone call and become an authority on all things FaceTime. You constantly wonder where he is and what he is doing. You hold that Christmas break hug at the airport longer than any previous one.You let go, call him back and hug more.It’s impossible to understand the level of misery Roxanne Bruce felt as she held her dying son in her arms, his body riddled with bullets, one night before he was supposed to return to school in Springfield, Missouri, before they were supposed to enjoy one or several of those Christmas break hugs.I watched my parents, both now gone, for decades deal with the death of my 7-year old sister.They never really recover.They’re never really whole again.They never really stop staring off into the distance at the most unpredictable times.So it is through tragedy we were able to learn about a remarkable young man and the countless number of people he touched, his mother in writing a life sketch for the funeral describing him as a curious little boy, a gentle soul who hated conflict but who watched over his siblings.His brother, in a poem, telling Richard he is balled up inside screaming and crying, that he was his biggest star, that he now feels like a blind man wishing to see the other side, wishing to see his face just once more.When it came time for Missouri State head football coach Dave Steckel to speak, he defined what his program refers to as “Bear Up,” a slogan based on the team’s nickname and defined by things like encouragement and support and courage and resolve and work ethic.“From the short time we had Richard,” said an emotional Steckel, “he was the epitome of ‘Bear Up.’ ”The video played for nearly an hour as friends and family lined the middle aisle and proceeded slowly through that passageway of unfathomable...
Monday, January 23, 2017Richard Nelson had already found a way to stand out on Chaparral High School’s football team: He’d racked up the yards and the touchdowns and made second-team all-state. And when he saw a chance to get to the next level, college football, he seized it.At a memorial service Sunday afternoon, Missouri State University football recruiter Mack Brown remembered Nelson messaging him on Twitter and asking him to “give him a chance to play on the team.”The tweets, and tenacity, paid off. Brown recruited Nelson, who signed a letter of intent last winter to play football on a scholarship. Brown joined several coaches and friends to pay tribute to Nelson, who died Jan. 14 in a shooting as he tried to break up a fight to defend his sister.About 100 people gathered at Paradise Seventh-Day Adventist Church to remember the 18-year-old, whom coaches, friends and family described as a “life taken too soon.” Some attendees wore jerseys with No. 20, Nelson’s basketball and football number.“Most of us look for something to hold on to,” George Tuioti, defensiv...
