Tru Williams

Age 19 of Bayport passed away on March 2, 2020.

Tru Williams could never sit still.

If he wasn’t doing flips off the trampoline or fishing with his friends, he was busy fixing his car or motorcycle -- adding a bigger engine or new rims. He was a busybody filled with energy and life.

Tru was effortlessly cool and making friends came naturally for him because people were attracted to his kind soul and wide smile.

He was a fierce defender of those he loved and would do anything he could to lift up the people around him. He cheered for the underdog and was the type of friend that always had your back.

Tru was a gifted athlete from an early age. He played nearly every sport possible but fell in love most with hockey and snowboarding. He spent countless hours perfecting tricks or doing flips off the ramps at Afton Alps.

After the snow melted, he and his friends would set up their own ramps and jumps in his mom’s backyard -- digging holes into the ground to create bike race tracks and moving mattresses next to the trampoline to see how many times they could tumble through the air and still land on their feet. His tricks were impressive, even if they sometimes made his family nervous.

Tru liked to be at home and his mom’s house was always a haven for him and his friends. He was immensely close with his mother, who helped him grow into a beautiful, smart man and tolerated all the messes he made -- whether that meant pouring buckets of snow into the bathtub to create a toy snowboard park or playing in the mud together.

Tru was hungry for adventure. He loved backpacking and canoeing with his dad through the Boundary Waters. They’d laugh as they hid their food in dry bins to keep the bears away and told spooky stories by the campfire while they cooked up the catch of the day. The two of them spent weeks shopping for deals on camping gear before spreading it across the living room floor and figuring out how to cram everything into their backpacks.

He spent several summers helping his grandpa on the farm and looked forward to spending their evenings together on the boat -- reeling in fish half the size of him.

Tru had a big heart, which was especially evident when he was near animals. Although he prefered cats, he played and roughhoused with any pet. He tattooed the name of his cat, Larry, on his chest.

Tru loved to joke around. When he was young, he would try to embarrass his older sister during middle school by rolling down the car windows and yelling “I love you, Tess!” when she got dropped off for the day.

He was filled with a vibrancy and light that will never dull. We were all lucky to know him.

Nineteen years was not enough time.

There are no words to describe how lost and empty the world feels without him -- it was a better place with him in it. His family wants to reiterate how important it is to ask for help if you are struggling with addiction or depression, because the world is a better place with you in it, too.

A Celebration of Tru's Life Monday, March 9th from 1 to 5 p.m. at Bradshaw Funeral Home, 2800 Curve Crest Blvd., Stillwater, with service beginning at 2 p.m. and family and friends are invited to share their memories following.

Tru is survived by his mother, Jean Evans-Williams, his father John Williams and stepmother Kris Svendahl, his sister Tess Williams, grandfather Neil Evans, girlfriend Tori Lee, step brothers Alex and Andrew Hansen, brother Jacob Geiermann, countless close friends and dozens of aunts, uncles and cousins. He is preceded in death by his aunt Suzanne Evans, grandparents Judy Evans, Mary and Frank Williams.

To Tru: Keep booling. We hope you know how much we love you.