The enduring love of family, friends and LR

For anyone who knew Tyler Prince ’95 and Natisha Nelson Prince ’96 during their junior and senior years at Lenoir-Rhyne, the couple’s devotion to one another was obvious. It was also a connection that had evolved over time.

“Tyler and I were in the same circles a lot. We became good friends and were there for each other when we needed to be,” said Natisha. “I don’t remember how exactly we moved from friendship to actually going out on a date. There weren’t any big romantic gestures. It just fell into place.”

Friendship blossoming into love

By the time of that first official date – dinner at Sagebrush steakhouse – Tyler and Natisha had already known each other two years through the A Cappella Choir, then directed by E. Ray McNeely, who also advised Tyler, a music major. Natisha joined the choir in her first year to balance the academic demands of her biology major.

“If I had serious work to do, I went to the library, but when I wanted to talk to people, I went to the lobby of the music building. People were always hanging out there, including Tyler,” Natisha explained. “When we got together, we didn’t have to figure out how to fit into each other’s lives because we already fit.”

Their social circles became closer when Natisha joined a sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha, which attended a lot of events and mixers with Tyler’s fraternity, Theta Xi. There were socials, campus activities, dinners with their families and late-night goofing-off trips to Walmart. The commitment got more serious when the couple bought a cell phone together. 

“It was probably 15 pounds and came in a bag that had a handle, like what I carry my laptop in now. Except you could barely lift this phone to carry it!” Natisha laughed. “It was the most useless thing, but we were excited because nobody else had one.”

On Valentine’s Day 1999, Tyler proposed during a day trip to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville. They got married in September of the same year. In the 22 years that followed, the couple built a life – running a successful business together, raising two children, traveling the world and supporting each other through challenges.

“We were always together, but it worked because it was always easy for us to talk to each other and to laugh together,” Natisha said. “Because Tyler and I had that friendship as a foundation, I think that helped us get through a lot of things other couples wouldn’t have survived.”

Outpouring care and support

When Tyler was diagnosed with cancer in October of 2020, the Princes discovered the love they’d found at Lenoir-Rhyne extended beyond just their marriage and family – they had a whole community to support them. 

Tyler had kept in contact with McNeely, then engaged in his own battle against cancer, and the two of them supported each other through their treatments via calls and text messages. 

“Ray had always been a mentor for Tyler,” Natisha said. “It was cute because Ray would go to appointments, and he would message Tyler on Facebook or text and say, ‘Hey, man, I'm in the hospital’ or ‘Where you at?’ and check on him.”

Old friends from choir, Theta Xi and Zeta Tau Alpha also checked in regularly, providing meals, prayers and support for Natisha as she started a Pampered Chef business to cover expenses while remaining flexible to take Tyler for treatments and to manage their household. But the most extraordinary display of LR love arrived in the Princes’ carport in December 2021. 

After the marching band from East Burke High School warmed up for the annual Rutherford College Christmas parade on the carport of the Princes’ home, more musical visitors arrived the next day.

“I don’t know exactly how they found out about it, but Dr. (Ryan) Luhrs brought the A Cappella Choir, with a lot of alumni and Ray McNeely to perform on our carport,” Natisha recalled. “Ray came with the lady who was taking care of him, and she’d barely parked the car before he was on his little scooter racing down the driveway. He was already in our house before she could get down the driveway. Then he kicked us all out of the house, so he could talk to Tyler. It was funny.”

While Luhrs took requests for the extended carport performance, Natisha shared the event on Facebook live, which brought greetings and catch-ups from other old friends and alumni who saw the stream. “We had a musical weekend. It was beautiful.”Tyler died at home on January 22, 2022, with his family by his side. 

“We were lucky because until that last 24 hours, he was fully with us,” Natisha shared. “He got confused sometimes and couldn’t move around much because the tumor was in his back, but he knew everyone. He knew us.”

She described the funeral as an LR reunion, with a prayer at service delivered by Tyler’s fraternity brother the Rev. Linn Fisher. Another of his brothers LR Pastor Todd Cutter served as a pallbearer alongside several current Theta Xi brothers. 

“I think that's special, for those guys to show up for Tyler. Most of those guys – with the exception of Todd and Chris Wilson – they didn’t know Tyler personally, but they stepped up. That’s just so LR,” said Natisha. 

Full circle

For Tyler and Natisha’s daughter, Natalie Prince ’24, the love she felt from her mom and dad’s friends at the end of his life has followed her through her time at LR, where she is majoring in psychology. She plans to remain at LR to complete her master’s in clinical mental health counseling – and her brother Benjamin plans to enroll as a member of the class of 2028 in the fall.

“In the beginning choosing to come to LR came down to my financial aid package and the ability to live at home and commute, so I could be near my dad when he was so sick. Even though I worried about finding an identity of my own, separate from my parents,” Natalie shared. “It’s been so much more than I ever imagined. I’ve found my own way, and I’ve made so many connections on and off campus.”

Natalie returned to classes on Monday after losing her dad on Saturday, and she was surprised at the care and concern she received from her fellow students as well as faculty and staff members. 

“I didn’t even know people would care that much,” she said. “My professors – and Dean Katie Fisher, this important person on campus, reached out. I feel like they prioritized how I was doing even more than I did at the time.” 

In the time since Tyler’s passing, Natalie has honored her dad’s legacy by joining the A Cappella Choir that meant so much to his college years and serenaded him from the carport near the end of his life.

“Dad said, ‘At least try it, you won’t regret it,’” she said. “It’s such a great creative outlet that brings me so much peace. My family literally started in that choir.  My mom and dad met there. And I’ve found people who are like family there as well."

She has followed in her parents’ footsteps in another unexpected way. On her first day of band camp during her first year on campus, she met a boy. Over the next year and a half, they formed a friendship, hanging out in the lobby of the music building with other friends from the music program. Then the friendship led to something more.

“He was just always around, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready for a relationship. Then at a football game, I came out of the bathroom and saw him across the concourse, and I thought, ‘Yes. I’m ready.’”

Natalie credits her parents’ example for setting a high standard for her future relationships.

“I don't think I truly realized how much my parents loved each other until Dad got sick, and I saw how my mom took care of him day in, day out,” she said. “The way that they interacted with each other putting love first even in the most difficult of times, they were both so resilient. I don’t ever want to settle for less than that kind of love.”