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<div>My name is Sam and I am Rashad Lamar Nelson’s longtime significant other and the mother of his brand new baby girl.
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<div>On Jan. 1, 2024 my world shattered. At approximately 9 pm that night, the Monona Police Department said they spotted a “suspicious vehicle” in the area.
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<div>Rashad and I had been on the phone a little earlier and I was crying from pregnancy hormones and telling him I needed specific tacos since I was having a pregnancy craving. He was always getting me all of my pregnancy cravings. He was making me feel so much better and our last words were I love you.
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<div>The police started to chase the vehicle and proceeded to use spike strips, which caused the vehicle to crash, taking the life of my dear Rashad Lamar Nelson and two friends, Aaron and Aajayah. The crash is under investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation. Rashad and Aajayah and Aaron were murdered in a sundown town.
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<div>Rashad Lamar Nelson was the most beautiful person inside and out. He had the absolute biggest heart in the world. He literally lit up an entire room with his presence and his smile, he had the biggest presence in the room, the presence of an amazing man, a king. He was the most handsome man in the world. Trying to capture Rashad’s essence in words isn’t possible. There are no English words to describe who Rashad was and was to all of his loved ones. He was an absolutely amazing man, he loved to make people feel good and laugh, he took care of everyone around him, and showed so much love. Rashad is love. He would give anything for others, he was constantly giving and helping people.
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<div>Rashad and I met playing basketball in 7th grade at my dad’s basketball open gym. We really have the Love and Basketball story, and we still played to this day, even when I was pregnant with our baby girl. Rashad would come home on my lunch breaks and take me and our dog Bosco to the park to shoot hoops and just talk about life and our day.
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<div>Rashad loved all the seasons. He mostly loved, loved fall because it was perfect basketball weather. Rashad would play basketball for hours. He was the most amazing basketball player ever and loved everything about basketball, just like me. He would always bring me to play too and I was usually the only girl. He would smile thinking the guys were thinking they were about to get buckets on me but he knew I was about to cross them up. He loved teaching me moves and we were always working on our moves and shooting together. This is one of our favorite things we did together.
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<div>Rashad was a man of God, he preached the word of Jehovah and would do so in the most wonderful loving way I had ever seen. He was a very deep thinker and I loved just listening to him speak and just looking deeply at him and his heart.
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<div>Rashad and I have been together over 17 years. That’s over half of our lifetimes. Rashad was and always will be the love of my life, my life partner, my absolute best friend, and SO much more. Thats that unconditional Agape love. Rashad and I are a bonded pair, and that love lasts forever. Rashad always would say our love is Always and Forever, and that it will always be! He always kept that promise! Rashad and I had a bond and love that I have never witnessed before, we were so much more than each other’s significant others. That’s my man, my husband, Jayla’s dad, Bosco’s dad, my everything. He loved me and Jayla and Bosco so much with all of his heart. I was beyond excited to see him become a dad!!!
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<div>They stole Rashad’s life and his friend’s lives. In the scheme of life they were all still babies. They deserve to be here and should be here. This isn’t right and is so wrong!
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<div>I was currently 9 months pregnant at the time that Rashad’s life was stolen from him and us. On the night that Rashad never came home, my blood pressure went up to an unhealthy level for our baby girl and me, once I had found out they took his life. I had to go to the hospital to be induced early for the safety of our baby girl Jayla and I. Because of this extreme heartbreak, I then went on to have a 52 hour labor, go through many interventions, ended up having an emergency c-section, hemorrhaged extra during the c-section , and our baby girl Jayla wasn’t breathing at first. I also developed preeclampsia while in the hospital and had to receive magnesium IV to prevent seizures, be placed on blood thinners, and iron IVs.
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<div>Sweet Jayla was born on January 4, 2024. Such a beautiful event that Rashad should have been there for. He was looking forward to her birth so much and to do this together. Rashad and I had set up baby Jayla’s crib together and her swing. I loved preparing for our baby girl together. It made Rashad so happy and filled both of our hearts. Jayla is an absolute blessing. Jayla is absolutely beautiful and looks so much like Rashad, like both of us. When we found out we were having a baby girl we both screamed with excitement! I am so blessed and thankful and grateful Rashad and I created our precious baby girl Jayla. She is a product of our Love. Rashad said I would finally have my mini me and I said he will have his little twin. What a wonderful and special day that Rashad should have been there for. Becoming a dad was the best thing ever, he was the most happy and proud that he has ever been. Building his own family was so special to him. He loved us with all of his heart and I and we love him with all of our hearts.
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<div>They stole so much from Rashad. They stole so much from me. They took the love of my life, our baby girl Jayla’s dad, our dog Bosco’s dad, and so much more. They took so much from his friends and loved ones.
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<div>Rashad was the most amazing dog dad to our precious Bosco. Bosco is a pitbull and English bulldog, Rashad calls him a purebred good boy and an English Pit. He was the best dog dad in the entire world and would love on Bosco soon as he walked in the door each time. Bosco absolutely loved and adored Rashad to no end. Rashad got Bosco for me to love and protect me. Rashad was always doing things for me and loving on me. He was a true leader, a provider, a protector, and the love of my life. He loved my parents like his own, and my sister like his sister. He was also an amazing cat dad to Mello and Royal.
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<div>Rashad was so excited to be a dad!!! Especially a Girl Dad!!! He was so excited for us to teach her to love herself and so much more. He was so excited for us to teach her basketball together, and be like how Kobe Bryant was for girl’s sports. He loved sharing girl’s basketball videos on social media to bring awareness to how important and awesome girl’s sports are.
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<div>Music was a vital part of Rashad’s life! He loved free styling and making music. He loved listening to music 24/7. He would blast his music in the car and we would just ride around together listening to the same songs over and over that were currently his favorites. He would play Beyoncé and other girl music for me and when he was riding around with the girls. He was always listening to music. I loved the mornings where he would start the day playing old school music, that meant we were about to eat real good and have a great day together. I miss everything about Rashad. He was the most thoughtful and loving person on this earth. Rashad Lamar should still be here. He had so much more life to live, we need him here, our daughter Jayla needs him here, our dog Bosco needs him here, I need him here. Life is not the same, not the sky, the trees, the grass, the snow, nothing. Rashad made life so beautiful. Bosco is so sad and waiting on his dad to come home. They took Jayla’s dad away. He never even got to meet her and he was supposed to meet her in a few days. He was so excited and ready for me to go into labor, I was due in January 11. Rashad was always asking me if it was time to go to the hospital and ask how I was feeling. He would bring me a McDonald’s happy meal every night for a late night snack, and get every craving I had. He would bring me all of my food each day to provide nourishment for our baby girl Jayla and I when she was in my tummy. One of our favorite things to do together was cook and pick up our favorite foods. We also just loved cuddling in bed together close as can be. He was so excited for our life, our family we built. He said that him, me, Jayla, and Bosco were the best family. He loved us so much and we loved him so much and always will. We were so excited for this next chapter in our life and love story. No words can describe how much we loved each other and what our bond was. We grew up together and loved each other through all of our life stages. We fell more in love each year! We had so many plans and these have all been taken. I miss Rashad Lamar so so very much. What a wonderful human that I am so blessed to have been loved by so deeply and to give my love to so deeply.
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<div>Rashad had so much on his shoulders and always took care of everyone around him. He was the most selfless person I have ever met and he is so special and precious. What a wonderful man. He was like a father to so many people. Rashad loved family deeply and also his chosen family and friends so deeply. His guys are his brothers and mean the world to him. Please pray for Rashad and our family and all of Rashad’s loved ones. It would mean everything to us.
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<div>Donations received will go to Rashad’s Celebration of Life that we will have this summer. Rashad said he never wanted a funeral and would want a celebration. Donations will also go to supporting our precious infant daughter Jayla and her care.
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<div>Rashad chose the name Jayla for our baby girl. The meaning of the name Jayla is “God will protect” and “To heal”. This is so special and means so much to me.
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<div>❤️ If you have special memories or photos of Rashad, please send them to me through the messaging option on GoFundMe or on Facebook messenger ❤️ Since Jayla will never experience the earthly Love her father would have given her, I will use these memories and photos of Rashad to create a special memory book for her. ❤️
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<div>In honor of Rashad, please share this GoFundMe widely.
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<div><strong>❤️❤️I love you Rashad Lamar Nelson!!!❤️❤️</strong>
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<div><strong>WE LOVE YOU RASHAD LAMAR!!!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️</strong>
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Sam Nemetz

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Mike Baumgarten

Pamela Winek

Mea Christianson

Nathaniel Schreck

Sarah Runde

Anna Meinholz

Grant Roth

Cora Cornett

Lisa Millin

Rashad Lamar Nelson

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

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Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

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United States (US) users

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Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

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Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

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Rashad Lamar Nelson

Still $9,245 to go. Help us build momentum.