Nicholas "Nick" Rehwaldt

Nicholas Lloyd Rehwaldt, 37, of Evanston, passed away September 6, 2026.

Born July 5, 1989, in Chicago, Nick graduated from Evanston Township High School. He received an Associate of Arts degree from Asheville-Buncombe Technical College and a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from the University of North Carolina Asheville.

Nick's curiosity and versatility led him to a remarkably wide variety of work. He worked in journalism, covering news about Venezuela and other countries, and later served as a grant writer for two Milwaukee central-city neighborhood organizations. In college, he was a stand-up comic whose material focused on political issues, often drawing directly from the headlines of whatever week it happened to be.

Along the way, Nick self-published two books and, under the pseudonym Billy Pilgrim, wrote essays about global and national politics and contemporary culture. He was a political junkie who consumed global news, often tuning in to foreign stations around the clock. He also held numerous positions in the food and hospitality industry, including line cook, prep cook, produce clerk, liquor shift lead, and cashier.

He loved to travel. He celebrated Christmas with family in the U.S. Virgin Islands and, with his parents, sailed the British Virgin Islands many times. He visited cities throughout the United States and Canada and vacationed in Italy, Japan, England, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Spain, Scotland, and Ireland. High on Nick's bucket list for future travels were Azerbaijan, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Morocco, and Turkey.

Nick's interests were as varied as his travel. He played the trumpet and French horn, and he could juggle balls, clubs, knives and flaming torches. He belonged to a juggling group and a political discussion meetup, and volunteered with the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Kitty City animal rescue, the Kurdish Community Center, and the Kat Abughazaleh congressional campaign. Nick loved his family and friends, though as anyone who knew him could attest, perhaps a little less than he loved college football (or his cats, Thunder and Whim).

Nick was whip-smart and funny, with a sensitive soul and a sometimes-brutal wit. He brought an independent mind, an appetite for experiences, and a distinctive sense of humor to the world around him. He was alert to the circumstances of others and freely shared cigarettes with his neighbors and the homeless people next door. Nick struggled with schizoaffective disorder his entire adult life. He will be remembered for his intellectual brilliance and sharp wit and for the many lives he influenced along the way.

Nick was the beloved son of Susan Lloyd and Thomas Rehwaldt and stepson of Hallie Rehwaldt. He is survived by his siblings, Mia Rehwaldt, Theodore "Buster" Blanchard, and Leanna Blanchard (Bradley Klein); and niece Charlotte Klein.

Services are being planned and will be held on Friday, October 23, 2026, 1:00pm at St. Pauls United Church of Christ, 2335 North Orchard Street, Chicago.

His ashes will be interred at St. Pauls United Church of Christ.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to support the behavioral health services at Thresholds (https://www.thresholds.org/) or Trilogy (https://www.trilogyinc.org/).
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A SPARK OF LIGHT
A poem by Aunt Annette

You were a spark–
bright, restless,
Imaginative and alive.

A quick wit.
A curious mind.
A reader, a thinker,
a writer searching for words
to make sense of the world.

You made us laugh.
You could talk for hours–
challenge us,
exasperate us,
draw us close,
and sometimes push us away.

You were loving,
thoughtful,
courageous,
complicated–

beautifully,
wonderfully human.

You were a son,
a grandson,
a brother, cousin, nephew,
and cherished friend.

Family–
woven into our lives
in ways time cannot unravel.

You carried a difficult mind
and a weary heart.
There were shadows you fought,
battles invisible to most,
burdens you carried quietly,
and seasons that left you tired.

Yet even in the darkness,
there was you–

the artist,
the storyteller,
the beautiful soul,
the stubborn spirit,
the child still reaching
for light.

Baptized.
Beloved.
Wonderfully made.

Not perfect.
Not meant to be.

Simply and completely–
you.

Your life was larger
than your suffering,
and your story longer
than its final page.

So we will remember
the laughter before the tears,
the words, the art,
the mischief and tenderness,
the moments that made us smile.

We will say your name.
We will tell your stories.
We will carry your memory
with tenderness.

Because you were here.
You mattered.
You are missed.
You are not forgotten.

May the restless mind
be quiet now.
May the weary heart
be still.

May you be released
from every burden
you could no longer carry.

May you rest in peace,
held in love
that never required you
to be anything
other than yourself.

Our beautiful,
brilliant,
cantankerous,
creative soul–

You were loved then.
You are loved now.
You will be loved
always.

Wonderfully made.
Forever remembered.