Las Vegas family recalls son, 34, who ‘dreamed big’
Nathaniel Schaus didn’t need words to tell his family he loved them. His eyes and smile said it all.
He brought them all closer together, and now he’s gone.
The Schaus family of Las Vegas is mourning the loss of Nathaniel, 34, who died unexpectedly at home Wednesday.
Three days after his death, family members sat in their living room, trading stories about the ways their son and brother amazed them after a tragic accident changed his life – and theirs – almost 25 years ago.
There were questions whether he would survive, but he pulled through after falling more than 100 feet while hiking at Red Rock Canyon in March 1988, two months shy of his 10th birthday.
Nathaniel was a daredevil before that day. His parents, Tom and Loralie Schaus, say they spent more time in the emergency room tending his accidents than with his four siblings combined.
The family grew closer and stronger on weekly trips to visit him as he recovered from his injuries and learned to live with his disabilities, first in California and then in Utah, Tom Schaus said. Nathaniel Schaus grew stronger, too, at those rehab centers.
“The most unique thing about Nathaniel was that he dreamed big,” Loralie said. “Even after Red Rock he was so happy to go do things.”
He found new ways to communicate after the fall robbed him of his speech, with his ability to move and to take care of himself. A raised arm was a yes and the opposite meant no. He also had a wordless sense of humor that everyone who met him quickly picked up on, Loralie Schaus said.
But he also learned to speak with his eyes. With those eyes and a magnetic smile, he shared his joy.
He loved spending time with his family, whether it was a family cruise or a trip to Washington, D.C., with mom.
He loved his nieces, one of whom learned to lower his bed so she could crawl in and cuddle with him.
And he loved music. When his brothers brought him to a Bon Jovi concert for a birthday, Loralie Schaus said, “he didn’t come down from that one for days.”
His hand always shot up in the air in an emphatic “Yes!” when his parents asked if he wanted to go to Opportunity Village.
Nearly every weekday for 11 years, he went to Project Pride, a program within the community-based, nonprofit organization that serves people with severe disabilities.
There, his smile won his handlers over, older brother Jonathan Schaus said. When Nathaniel Schaus was sick at home for a year, staff members and some of his friends from Opportunity Village regularly came to visit.
Loralie Schaus thanked Opportunity Village for its role in her son’s life.
“Even Nathaniel was perceived as being of value,” she said. “A lot of times, people don’t see that in disabled people. They have to learn their value.”
In lieu of flowers, the Schaus family asks that any donations be made in Nathaniel Schaus’ name to either Opportunity Village or Shriners Hospitals.
His funeral is at 10 a.m. today at St. Joseph, Husband of Mary Catholic Church, 7260 W. Sahara Ave.
Contact Kyle Potter at kpotter@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0391.