Taye Nakamura-Koyama

Taye could be tough as nails; I think she liked people to see her that way.  About a week before school was finished, Taye and I were driving to her cycling workout.  Suddenly, the cars were stopping on the road in both directions, so we stopped a couple cars back.  A moment later, we saw a family of geese crossing the road.  One goose parent was in front, five little baby geese were in the middle, and the other goose parent was right at the end.  They were in a perfect line, marching across.  I heard Taye just say aaaawww, ooohhh and I swear she was going to melt right into a puddle of love at that moment.  Taye could be tough as nails.  But she was also incredibly sensitive and loving, especially to all things tender and vulnerable.  I miss you Taye, all of you, every moment.

My most recent interaction with Taye was at the Central Oregon 500+ cycling event.
She said that she was very excited about getting into Proctor Academy.  She was thrilled!
The cyclists that rode with her that day refer to her as the "Rocket Girl" because of her strength and determination on her bike.
I miss her so much and always will.

Dear Taye,
  Chesley's mom's memory reminds me of the time, you completely missed the MBSEF van down from the mountain.  Your sister, Kiki, managed to make the van after practice, but you were no where to be found.  I remember asking your sister, if it ever occurred to look to see if you made the van, but nope, she hadn't thought of it.
   I knew you'd be okay, but it did scare me a little. You were always so independent, nothing ever seemed to scare you.   After some frantic phone calls to the mountain by Kathy Kurtz, who always saves the day for our family, she located you and I think it was either the Lafky's or the Botti's who brought you back down to town.
   I may have acted mad at you, but it was really worry.  How I wish you could've just missed the van, and I'd know you were coming home soon.  Missing you so much.

Taye was SPECIAL and so wonderfully unique.  I will never forget the time I was supposed to watch her on the mountain, and she went down to the lodge on her own, and thought nothing of it...but it scared me!  (She was really little and young then.)
   She was so talented, and yet so humble.  She was beautiful and ture, and such a special friend to Chesley.  No matter the miles, they always fell right back to where they left off.  Thank you Taye!

One of my many memories of Taye, was when we were in 3rd grade and the two of us were in your backyard.  We had our hearts set on building the perfect fort, but the materials we needed were underneath the porch.  We then had to venture all the way across the yard to get there...well the problem was that I was scared of the white dove-like birds and Taye was scared of the bugs; the dead ones scattered around.  How we went about solving this problem included me inspecting the area for bugs, while Taye ran around yelling in order to the birds out of there!