Capt. Nathan J. Nylander, 35, Tucson, AZ, formerly of Fairbury, was killed April 27, 2011, at an airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Memorial services will be held at 2:00 pm Sunday, June 19, 2011 at the Trinity Lutheran Church, Fairbury with Pastor Tom Krieger officiating. Full military rites will be accorded by the Fairbury VFW post #9789 and John Joda American Legion post #54 at Graceland Cemetery, Fairbury. Following the committal service a reception will be held at the Trinity Lutheran Church fellowship hall. The family suggests memorials be given to the Trinity Lutheran Church, SELCAS or Brian Munz Safety Complex, all in Fairbury. Duffy-Pils Memorial Home, Fairbury is assisting the family with arrangements.

Nathan was born on January 23, 1976 in Fairbury, IL.

Surviving is his wife of AZ; three children, Tyler, Elisabeth and Andru Nylander all at home; his father, Wendell "Butch" (Carol) Nylander, Fairbury; his mother, Mary (Charles) Grant, Ormond Beach, FL; two sisters, Nikki Kelly, Tara (Mike) Norris; one brother, Chris (Tressa) Bivens; and a paternal grandmother, Mary Ellen Nylander, Fairbury.

Nathan was a graduate of Waller High School in Texas. He left in July of 1994 for Basic Military Training at Lakeland AFB and began his career as an Airman in the United States Air Force. Upon completion of training he went to technical school at Goodfellow AFB in Texas to become a radio and satellite data analyst. After technical school he went to Patrick AFB, Florida.

In January of 1998, Senior Airman Nylander cross-trained into the weather career field. He then spent time at Keesler AFB, MS. Later he transferred to Luke AFB, AZ. He also served at Yongsan AB, South Korea and Chambersburg, PA. In February of 2006, Sergeant Nylander arrived at Officer Training School where he was recognized as the #1 graduate of his class. From 2006 through 2009 Lt. Nylander was stationed at Hickam AFB, Hawaii. In May of 2009 Lt. Nylander became the flight commander for Central Flight at the 25th Operational Weather Squadron at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ. After only three months on the job, he was lauded as an "exceptional performer" by the standardization and evaluation team inspectors and pivotal to the Squadron's "excellent" rating. In his critical leadership role, Capt Nylander was extremely innovative. His ideas laid the foundation of a Squadron reorganization that propelled weather performance to its highest levels in over a decade. Most recently Capt Nylander was a flight commander with the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing base in the Afghan capital.

Capt Nylander received the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Meritorious Medal w/1 OLC, AF Commendation Medal w/3 OLC, Joint Service Achievement Medal, AF Achievement Medal, AF Combat Action Medal, AF Outstanding Unit Award w/ 1 Silver OLC as well as numerous other awards and decorations.

Nathan was a true American hero.