Help Honor Nathan Westergaard’s Life and Legacy

On the morning of Sunday, August 3rd, 2025, two Rochester Police Department officers knocked on the front door of Lori and Miles Westergaard’s home. That hesitant knock was followed by life-altering news.

Their 38-year-old son, Nathan Michael Westergaard—second-born, cherished, and deeply loved—was found unresponsive on Salem Road at 5 a.m. Paramedics did everything they could, but Nathan could not be revived.

From that moment, the Westergaard family’s world shattered. Denial, sorrow, anger, confusion, and heartbreak consumed them. And along with the grief came questions that remain unanswered:

• Why was Nate found alone, so far from home?

• Why wasn’t his phone found?

• How do we move forward without our son, our little brother, our Irish twin, our uncle, our grandson, our cousin, our friend, our handyman, our wordsmith, our chess master, our Golf Pro… our NATE?

Grief is excruciating.

Sleep is elusive. Memories, even the joyful ones, feel painful. You want to go numb, but eventually, you seek calm in the storm. You try to solve the problem, even when you know the heart of it—Nathan’s absence—has no solution.

Nathan is gone from this earth, but what remains is his family, his friends, and the community that he loved so much. He was born and raised in Rochester. He supported this city, and now we hope this city can help support the Westergaard family.

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss… Beautiful people do not just happen.”

“Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of our joy and the dividing of our grief.”

The Westergaard family and the Rochester community are in this together. We’ve been overwhelmed by your kindness—your flowers, food, messages, hugs, and presence. Family is more than blood, and we feel that truth now more than ever.

While no donation can erase our grief, it can help relieve the financial burdens ahead. We’re asking for help not because it’s easy, but because celebrating a life shouldn’t be weighed down by costs. With your help, we hope to honor Nathan’s memory with the dignity and love he deserves.

This GoFundMe will help with:

1. Nathan Westergaard’s Celebration of Life (Details TBD)

2. Cremation services

3. Criminal attorney and filing fees (related to unanswered questions surrounding his death)

4. Any personal loans or debts Nathan left behind

5. The care of Nathan’s child - Tiger - a puppy that he loved and adored

All donations in this fundraiser will go directly towards Nathan’s immediate family for the items mentioned above. Thank you for helping us carry Nathan’s light forward. Your love reminds us that while grief is heavy, we don’t carry it alone.