DECEMBER 8, 1987 – SEPTEMBER 7, 2020
he time was 10:30 P.M. at a hospital in the town of River Falls, Wisconsin. The baby born moments earlier was alive, but the birth was complicated. With a broken collarbone and fluid in the lungs, the doctors deemed it necessary to airlift the child to Ramsey Hospital in Minnesota. It was the opinion of the doctors that the child would not make it through the night, and if by some miracle the baby did survive, he would be severely mentally handicapped. With an Apgar score of 0, the child’s parents waited and hoped.
Amazingly, the child did survive the night, and to the astonishment of the doctors grew up quite healthy. The story of Nicholas Parmeter had begun.
I come from a family of six. My parents, Brad and Linda, are still married today and reside not far from the St. Croix River in Osceola, Wisconsin. My older brother Ryan was born seven years before I was, and my twin brothers Adam and Alex were born three years after me. For the first ten years of my life we lived on Lincoln Street in River Falls, two blocks from the intersection of Division and Main Street. In 1997 we moved north to the town of Osceola.
From my experience teaching others to play guitar and snowboard, and from my field experiences in the education program, I believe that I can effectively convey information and really help students that would otherwise “just not get it”. Seeing how my teachers in the past could have been more effective and experiencing the phenomenal teaching techniques of others really inspired me. The chance to positively affect the lives of so many students at such a crucial point in their life is yet another reason why I am eager to start my career as an educator of mathematics.
After graduating with a Bachelors in Mathematics for Secondary Education from the University of Wisconsin, River Falls in 2013, Nick’s first job as a math teacher was at Osceola High School, where he graduated with honors at the top 20% of his class. He was proud to be able to teach alongside his former teachers.
In August, 2014 Nick moved to Longmont, CO, to begin teaching at Longmont Christian School, where he met his future bride, Jen. His most recent teaching position was at GOAL High School, where he taught math up until the time of his passing. So often students would identify Mr. Parmeter as their favorite teacher. He acquired many loving nicknames from his students, including Mr. Parmesan and Mr. Parking Meter.
Nick married Jennifer Ann Johnson on June 11, 2016 and became a father to Zach and Hannah Johnson. Nick loved exploring the beautiful state of Colorado with his wife and kids. Together, Nick and Jen went on a mission trip to the Navajo Nation in Arizona, visited San Diego where he experienced the sun setting over the ocean for the first time, spent a day at the Grand Canyon, watched orcas swim in the Canadian ocean and explored the country of Ireland. Nick loved Zach and Hannah as his own, often playing football and Monopoly with Hannah and guitar and video games with Zach.
Playing video games was one of Nick’s favorite hobbies. In his free time, he enjoyed Starcraft, HoN and old school video games, especially Super Smash Brothers. Nick also enjoyed spending time with his family at Rush River, camping, card games such as 500 and Go Fish, “nerdy Anime,” and combing the shores of lakes and rivers looking for agates. His guilty pleasure was enjoying two Spicy McChickens and a chocolate shake from McDonalds. More than anything, Nick was a man of God, prayerfully seeking God’s will. Nick first professed his interest in Jen after attending a service at Flatirons Community Church, which is where they would continue to attend as they built their life together.
Nick was welcomed into the arms of Jesus on September 7, 2020 with his family by his side. Nick was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents, Robert and Elrita Lathrop of Rice Lake, Wisconsin, and his paternal grandfather, Jerome Parmeter of Prescott, Wisconsin. He is survived by his parents, Bradley and Linda Parmeter, his siblings, Ryan, Alex, Adam and Sierrah Parmeter, grandmother, Mary Jayne Parmeter, wife, Jennifer Parmeter, children, Zach and Hannah Johnson as well as many other close family and friends who reside in both Colorado and Wisconsin.
A celebration of Nick’s life will be held at New Creation Church, 737 Bross St., Longmont, CO 80501 on Friday, September 18th, 2020 at 6:30 p.m.
