In Memory of Nathanael Putbrese

Nathanael Matthew Putbrese, affectionately known as ‘Putt-Putt’ to his friends, or ‘Bubby’, ‘Jr.’ & ‘Tumbleweed’ to his family, ran straight to the waiting arms of his Noreen grandparents in the presence of God on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Anoka County, Minnesota, USA. Nathanael was born July 24, 1992, the first of 2 sons to Nathan Putbrese and Kristina “Tina” (Noreen /Putbrese) Ruis. He was one of 9 babies born at First Baptist Church of Cambridge, Minnesota the summer following the great Halloween Blizzard of 1991.

Our son / brother was happiest when he was outdoors, hunting, fishing, camping, canoeing, riding dirt bikes, 4-wheeling, riding bicycle, he was a natural at scuba diving (he became Jr. certified at a young age), and driving his car to pick up anyone who needed a ride, anywhere & anytime day or night. As a child, he loved spending time with his grandparents on Springsteel Island at Lake of the Woods (Warroad, MN). He made it to the highest point in Rocky Mountain National Park/Estes Park Colorado with the First B Sr. High youth group in June 2008.

This love of nature, coupled with his ability to be content wherever he was, helped him through some long, dark days brought on by unresolved childhood trauma, that his immediate family didn’t learn about until many years later. Most of us know he was okay making himself comfortable sleeping in a park, by a river, in a vehicle or a pile of leaves behind an old building somewhere. So many friends loved him, that he usually had open doors to stay days or weeks at a time, until he would decide it was time to go, earning him the nickname ‘Tumbleweed’ as lovingly assigned by his Skip-dad.

Nathanael was born with a rare genetic fluke, Hemophilia Type B, severe. His blood didn’t clot on its own, causing bleeding in his joints and muscles. Like everything, he took it In stride. He made lots of friends at age 8, his first time at Camp Courage North – Hemophilia Week and was assigned the title of “Mohawk Fisherman” because of his Red-White-&-Blue Mohawk haircut, and his obsession for fishing the lake. He looked forward to meeting his same friends every year. In 2009 the family attended the Coalition for Hemophilia B Symposium in Times Square in NYC. He and Max made touring the Statue of Liberty an adventure. A few years ago he also attended a men’s Hemophilia B conference in California.
Nathanael worked various jobs over the years. He really wanted to keep working in landscaping but his shoulder wouldn’t take it. He worked in manufacturing places from Princeton to Cambridge to Rush City. He was happiest working with his dad installing signs at Minnesota Sign Co., Inc. and he had his own little vinyl cutting project he called “Putt’s Graphics & Design”.

‘Putt’ had an easy smile and a kind heart. He was taken advantage of by many ‘friends’, yet when asked about it, he would reply, “Maybe they needed it more than I did. Probably did.” Most who knew him, witnessed many times where he would take the jacket right off his back or the shoes off his feet to give to anyone in need. Maybe it was the last dollar in his pocket or the last cig in the pack, it didn’t matter. He had faith whatever he needed the need would be met, and that everything would be okay.

The last several months of his life had been pretty good for Nathanael finding a balance of recovery and mental health. He was clear and level-headed, seeming to overcome a lot of the anxiety he tried to hide so many years. He was able to spend time with his dad and brother for a weekend of laughter and bonding, healing some of the separation over the years of Substance Use Disorder. The healing and restoration was a true blessing and a gift of time, as he had almost passed away in a June motorbike accident. His family is grateful for this extra time with our Nathanael Matthew.

With all the wonderful things to say about Nate, we would be remiss to not talk about what killed him slowly. It is something he never could speak about and we didn’t know about until the years had taken their toll on him. Please face the difficult conversions head-on so your children don’t think they need to carry this shame all alone. Please call out the creepy family member or neighbor before they harm children. This trauma led our beautiful boy to numb his pain with substances starting with ecstasy and leading to stimulant street drugs. Nate had recently been in treatment for dual-diagnosis, and we were all really hopefully this would be the fresh start he deserved. Unfortunately, he was hospitalized due to hemophilia pain in his joints, and despite a chart that said Addiction Recovery on the front page, he was given waves of Dilaudid for pain many days in February & March. His cause of death is ‘Pending’. We do know his passing was just a few days after being discharged from a 5-day stay in the hospital on highly addictive painkillers. Opioids hadn’t ever been anything his family had to worry about, but in a cruel twist of fate, we now know that whatever his cause of passing, he was likely struggling with withdrawal sickness on his own. He always thought he was strong enough to not need help.

We know he is truly at peace in heaven. No doubt. Nathanael’s bright light will remain in our hearts and memories. We will miss him terribly. Remember his kind heart, his love of cooking steak & eggs with grilled asparagus or big burgers – – and sharing what he cooked. Think on the happy days in recovery, and how fast he could walk from one end of Cambridge to the other. Think of his love of animals, especially dogs, and his kindness to children. Oh, how children loved Nathanael. His childlike innocence and hope for better days didn’t waver. He lived each moment.

Nathanael is survived by his brother, Max A. Putbrese, father Nathan P. Putbrese, mother Kristina “Tina” Ruis & HW “Skip” Ruis. Nathanael had many step-siblings, including Brody Stassen, Gabriella O’bryan, Jackson Kopperude and he was especially close with Skip’s daughter Angela Weber (Isanti) and nieces MaryAuna Weber and Ella Weber. Uncles/Aunts Charlie Noreen, Casey (Sarah) Noreen, Danika Noreen of Grand Forks, ND, Becky (Bryan) Christoffer of Spencer IA, Dan Putbrese, Waterloo IA, and grand parents Monte & LaVonne (Crew) Putbrese. Great Uncle Joe (Sue) Simon of Thompson, ND. Cousins Lexy (Kyle) Riendeau, Kelle (Ty) Buresh, Kaitlyn Noreen, Connor Noreen, Emilia Noreen. Katie Putbrese, Gabriel, Jeremiah, Ben & Zach Ginger, and several other cousins. Nathanael’s lifelong friend-like-a-brother, Daniel O’Brien. Skip’s adult children are Monica (Bill) Zeller, Jeremiah (Jenni) Ruis, Isaiah (Jessica) Ruis, Angela (Jessie) Weber, & Amanda Johnson and their children. It’s hard to list names, as families become broken and lose touch, so we are doing the best we can.

Nathanael is preceded death by grandparents Joanne Noreen & CV ‘Kelly’ Noreen, uncle Kelle Jay Noreen, of Grand Forks, North Dakota, many Great Aunts and Uncles, and several close friends over the years.