UPDATE:A Go Fund Me Account has been set up to help Tanie and her girls. You can donate at https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-the-valison-family-after-tragic-loss?member=29613089&sharetype=teams&utm_campaign=p_na+share-sheet&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook
This was posted on the Ravensdale Neighborhood site to share by Tanie Valison
First of all, I need to thank this phenomenal community for its outpouring of love, kindness, concern, and support for our family over the last few days. As you can imagine, this has been a an unimaginable nightmare from which we can not wake up. I genuinely cherish the overwhelming amount of well wishes that we have received even though you may not have known my husband Nick personally or myself. Which is why I feel it important to post this today and let the entire community know that Nick Valison was much, much more than a “53-year old Ravensdale man” as he is referred to in the news. Our neighbor friend who found Nick and called for aid immediately, has helped me put into words what the world has lost in Nick’s life being stolen from us. I have so many memories and love that I couldn’t do it on my own and it needed to be said the moment he was gone. He was my best friend, but so much more than that. I can’t even say he was my better half because it was more like my better 3/4. His personality, giving and kind heart, and love for others was just that big.
“Nick greeted the morning of September 21st as he would any other day with a smile on his face and a positive attitude. Excited about what the day had in store for him, he drank his cup of black coffee in his favorite chair as the sun came up over our beautiful Ravensdale and prepared for his morning neighborhood stroll with his beloved Alaskan Malamute, Nanuk. While lacing up his tennis shoes, he proudly commented to his wife and daughter on how he had logged over 625 miles in those exact sneakers and he would retire them by the day’s end. Tragically…senselessly…his life was taken just a few minutes later.
Nick and his family moved to Ravensdale in 2012. Purchasing a 20-acre lot, the thought of country livin’ was a dream of Nick’s, shared by his loving wife, Tanie. Tanie and Nick had met in college at the University of Idaho in 1990 when Nick was a Junior and Tanie a Freshman. True soulmates, married in 1994, they’ve been inseparable since the day they met. Nick and Tanie built a wonderful life in the rural surroundings of Ravensdale and were known by many in the community. They raised their two beautiful girls Tessa (22) and Anna (14). Nick beamed with joy at the mere mention of their names. He couldn’t wait to tell you how Tessa had moved to Arizona and was conquering the world in a law firm she loved and admired. Or how he had just bought Anna a new dirt bike so they could ride together in the afternoons and weekends as she began high school. He loved to talk about how well they were doing or what they were up to. Not in a boastful way. But in a way filled with pride, love, respect, and admiration. A girl-dad to the core and an amazing one at that. His big, bright smile was infectious. It would light up the room. If you knew him, even briefly, you were his friend. He was kind, gentle, caring, thoughtful, loving, generous, and easily the best person you could ever know. Inquisitive and thoughtful, he would take on your problems as if they were his own. Happy to lend a hand or ear, whichever was needed. Always willing to help in whatever way he could. Atypical to most “computer guys,” Nick was an avid outdoorsman. Daily walks with Nanuk just scratched the surface. He loved mountain biking and hiking through the hills of Sugarloaf Mountain and beyond. Each year he looked forward to the annual retreat to the mountains with his lifelong friends to raft, fish, and take on whatever bounty mother nature would bestow upon them. A guy’s guy, who never met a campfire he didn’t like. His sprawling property was meticulously maintained. He and Nanuk would roam the property to make sure everything was perfect, while taking care of the chickens, bunnies, ducks, donkeys, and every now again a stray cat or two. It was the country life that he and Tanie had always dreamt of. To summarize one’s life in a few paragraphs is a fool’s errand. To make sense of something so senseless is simply unachievable. Nick was much, much more than a “53-year old Ravensdale man.” He was a husband, father, son, sibling, friend, neighbor, and Good Samaritan. As his oldest daughter Tessa said, “he was the glue that held so people many together.” We love you dearly, Nick. You will be missed more than you will ever know.’
Please share his story and continue to help the King County Sheriff’s Dept. with any tips in this case, big or small, so we can bring my husband the justice he truly deserves. 206-296-3311 attention Detective Gerlitz.
