Travis Nissen remembered warmly by Miller students, fellow officers

Seventh-grade Connor Stark said Nissen once handcuffed him to prove to the boy that his handcuffs were the real deal. Connor said that he and Travis got off to a rough beginning, but ultimately built a friendship together.

Eighth-grader Justin Tuey said that his sixth- and seventh-grade years were turbulent. Justin said that Nissen would tell him he felt disappointed when he made poor choices, leaving Justin to feel like he truly let Nissen down, advising him in many instances for school and personal issues. One day, Justin described, he was walking down the hallway with his friends, who made a left-hand turn to go off and get into trouble. Justin started to walk that way, but changed him mind and backtracked, to which Nissen declared, “Good choice, Justin. I’m proud of you.”

“I miss him,” said Justin. “I think about how me and him became really good friends.”

Seventh-grader Tyler Kelder said that Nissen delivered him to the hospital after he broke his ankle roller-skating at a fundraiser. Nissen was friends with Kelder’s dad, a Miller school gym teacher, and when Nissen called him to explain that his son broke his ankle, Kelder’s dad refused to believe him and insisted that it was just one more of Nissen’s pranks.

‘Hero of Miller School’

Student Kyla Rowan said that she thinks about Nissen every day, and even opens last year’s yearbook to his photo to talk to him about her problems, and hears his voice respond. Kyla said that from day one Nissen would talk her down from her tree when she was having fights with friends and listen to her, and she still recites one of his mantras — “It’s not even that big of a deal” — when she and her friends have strife. Kyla said that Nissen’s personality coupled with his good looks was the draw, and how he would be serious when listening, and yet light-hearted most other times. Kyla also enjoyed his zany sense of humor.

School principal Jo Burruby said that Nissen was a son to her, and a beloved role model to her students who forged genuine, pastoral relationships with her students who needed it the most. Burruby even had pictures of Nissen on her corkboard which had been there for years.  To help students through their grief she asked them to write letters to Nissen, and cards to his wife. “Dear Officer Nissen,” one letter read, “I remember my first day at Miller as a sixth-grader. I saw you. You were a soft-speaking man who was a child hero to us all. I think you’re still here, watching us all at Miller. May you rest in peace, hero of Miller School.” Some kids apologized for their bad behavior. Other kids wrote about memories. Many kids recalled his favorite peace-keeping expressions, “let things go,” “go with the flow.” One child wrote, “You always told me that I was a good person and always complimented me.” She referred to him as a “guardian angel” and also a role model.