Nicholas Alexander Haag left this world holding his parents’ hands and surrounded by love on the morning of June 23rd. He made such an impact on everyone who knew him and was loved beyond belief.

What to say about such an amazing person? Nicholas lived a lifetime of experiences packed into 17 short years. He was funny, kind, quirky, smart and passionate about causes he believed in. He spent most of his time gaming, messaging friends while tweeting about cats and social causes. Manchester City FC was his favorite English Premiere League football team. Top Gear and The Grand Tour fueled his love for cars and British humor. Wikipedia taught him so many things, as he soaked up bits of knowledge about anything and everything. Traveling fed the wanderlust in him, and if we could travel by train or mass transit, that was the icing on top of the cake. He knew so much about the world, he could always beat his mom at GeoGuesser no matter where Google plopped us down.

Even though he’d been battling cancer for 5 years, he still had a zest for life, a flair for the dramatic, and a spirit that kept pushing him to fight. Cancer finally beat him, but I know he took one last train ride with his PawPaw to his next destination. He left Jennifer Haag (mom), Edward Haag (dad), Christopher Haag (brother) and two grandmothers, Linda Smith (maternal), and Sherry Haag (paternal), behind. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the Celebration of Life ceremony will have to be an intimate one. It will be held on July 11th, which would have been his 18th birthday.

As Christopher says: He was one cool dude. Yes he was!

Those who wish to honor him, we ask that in lieu of flowers, please consider one of the following organizations to donate in his name. These are causes that were near and dear to his heart:

The Isabella Santos Foundation

A rare pediatric cancer foundation supporting Levine Children’s hospital, and cancer research here in Charlotte. The foundation interviewed him last September, and the link is included below.

https://isabellasantosfoundation.org

https://isabellasantosfoundation.org/through-my-eyes-behind-the-mind-of-a-teenager-fighting-cancer-social-anxiety/

Nicholas firmly believed in equality for all, no matter skin color, sex, religion, or sexual orientation, so these next two organizations are very important to him as well.

The Trevor Project

As a member of the LGBTQ+ community he believed strongly in the Trevor Project. LGBTQ youth are the future of our community, and it is our duty to show up for them 24/7 through our suicide prevention, advocacy, research, and education programs, and to build a world that honors and affirms every LGBTQ young person.

https://www.thetrevorproject.org

The Black Lives Matter Movement

And the Black Lives Matter movement, especially in the last few weeks of his life, he wanted so strongly to go out there and protest. He felt passionately about the need for police reform to protect and serve the black community, not subject them to harassment, discrimination and brutality.

https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/#donate