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Nicholas William Hare, 51

Nicholas William Hare, age 51, died on Oct. 31, 2018, in Austin, Texas. Nick was born Dec. 17, 1966, to Bill and Sharon Hare. He grew up in Spokane, Wash., and attended Cataldo, Lewis and Clark High School and Spokane Community College, where he graduated with a cardiovascular technician degree.

Nick was born the fourth of six children. During his youth, many hours of hockey were spent on Cannon Hill Pond and Eagles Ice Arena. Nick was always the runt of his hockey team, easily weighing less than his hockey bag and gear. As an adult, Nick would still strap on skates and play adult league hockey with his brother, Vern, whenever given the chance. Oh, how times change, because as he grew older he became the largest player on the ice, intimidating in size but the least aggressive in play.

As a young man, Nick lived life on the edge. He acted with reckless abandonment and no fear of danger. He would ski fast and loose, he rode dangerous motorcycles and drove fast cars, including a yellow Corvette and a Dodge Stealth 3000 GT. The fast cars eventually went away after many speeding tickets.

In 1999 Nick married Liliana. They had two daughters, Lili and Niki, born 12 months apart. Liliana and Nick married and divorced twice. They cared for and loved each other but just could not live together.

For 25 years Nick worked in cardiac cath labs, as a technician and then as a manager. He worked long and hard hours to provide for his family. He was good at his job with meticulous attention to detail. At his passing, he was living and working in Austin, Texas. He loved his job there but it was very difficult to be away from his daughters. Nick would face-time them every morning before he left for work.

It is hard to contain the character and attributes of Nick in a few paragraphs. He meant so much to his entire family. He was always tan, large and muscular in stature, which could appear intimidating — and yet his heart was genuinely soft and caring. His laugh, which was easily obtained, was recognizable and like no other; it was loud, boisterous and joyful. He was authentic in character and easily divulged way too much information about himself with great humor to those he loved.

Nick’s greatest joy in life was his two daughters, Lili, age 17 and Niki, age 16. From the moment they were born, Nick’s already soft heart turned to complete mush. They were everything to him. There was truly nothing he would not do for them. He was a loving, wise, humorous, firm, yet also easily swayed, hardworking dad.

He was not only the father of two, but an uncle to 20 nieces and nephews. Nick was the uncle with the big laugh and loud voice, who drove nice cars, who teased lovingly and at times shared too much information for naive ears.

Nick had a unique quality which was a refreshing openness about his life. Nick constantly spoke of what was happening in his world without apprehension. There was nothing he would not divulge and it was an endearing quality. Because of his willingness to talk about his life so openly we were all blessed to see his true heart. It is a rare person who is so transparent and vulnerable, yet because of this, he was loved deeply by many. We will all miss our conversations and time with Nick.

Nick is survived by his children, Lili and Niki; his mother, Sharon Hare; his siblings, Cheryl and Ron Doran (Taylor, Riley, Nicky and Maui), Kiki and Jeff Mularski (Madison, Eliza, Max and Ermias), Vern and Sue Hare (Derek, Luke, Kelsey and John Huynh), Cyndy and Craig Monasmith (Zach, Ian, Caleb and Ty), Rachel and Ben Bucklin (Eli, Micah and Carter) and Liliana Hare. Nick was preceded in death by his nephew, Gabe Doran and his father, Bill Hare.

A celebration of life will be held next week. All family and friends are welcome. Please contact any Hare family member for information.