In 2018 Nathan Mariani suddenly died by suicide at the young age of 16.
It was something that no one could have anticipated. Nate was funny, joyful, creative, and a loving young man who enjoyed spending time outdoors and with his family and friends. He loved to go hiking, camping, and ride both his bike and scooter through the streets of Connecticut and later the calm roads of New Hampshire. Nate was good at a lot of things, like making people smile and touching many with his sensitive spirit. The fact of the matter is that even though Nate had plenty of friends at high school and was loved greatly by his family, he felt unable to endure the stresses that life threw at him. On Friday, August 31, 2018 in Spofford, NH, his life ended by suicide, forever changing the lives of those around him.
Nate is missed everyday by his mother Tina Mariani, her fiance Bob Legere, brothers Nick and Mike Mariani, as well as by his grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends that loved him dearly.
Mike is 16 years old and lives in the small town of Spofford, New Hampshire. Mike is one of a kind, he's the most upbeat and unique kid I've ever met, I'm lucky to call him one of my best friends. Some of his favorite hobbies include road & mountain biking, swimming, scooting, hiking, exploring, camping, and that is just to name a few. Mike also continues to amaze me with uncommon but amazing skills, such as his half mile wheelies on his bike or his ability to climb on almost everything he sees. He brings the energy everywhere he goes and never fails to make people laugh and smile. I've known Mike for about four years now and I can see ourselves being life-long friends. I'm forever grateful to be so close to someone who shares some of the same crazy dreams.
Devin Mclaughlin is 16 years old and lives in Chesterfield, New Hampshire. Devin is a very hard working and kind person. If something of his breaks or stops working he immediately looks at how to fix it or even make it better. Some of the things Devin loves to do include mountain biking, road biking, and hiking all year round. Devin is the type of person to light up a room and find common ground to stand on, this made it easy to share the same crazy dreams that we are soon to experience. When we are hiking he is rock climbing, and when we road bike he is always searching for a new challenge whether that be a bigger hill to ride up or a faster hill to go down. Those are just some of the things that show Devin's true drive to better himself and the people around him. I admire his dedication and am so happy to be able to ride my bicycle across the country with him.