| Notes |
- Dylun Ryun Tapio, age 12, Kaukauna passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday June 25, 2019. Dylun loved his family more than anything in the world and ended up saving his brothers life before losing his own.
He was born on June 27, 2006 in Neenah, Wisconsin to Jason and Tia (Ulrich) Tapio. Dylun currently attended school at River View Middle School, in Kaukauna where he was excited to be entering into the 8th grade this coming school year. Dylun was an incredible artist and loved taking art classes in school. His love for animals made him an avid outdoorsmen. He loved WWE wrestling, and was able to attend multiple matches with his family. He loved dinosaurs and would sit and play all day with his younger siblings and cousins. Dylun was the most amazing, loving, caring, and helping child. He was always willing to go out of his way to offer a helping hand or kind words. He also loved spending time with his family at water parks, monster truck rallies, and having cookouts and camp fires at his grandparents house.
Dylun is survived by his parents, Jason and Tia Tapio; sister, Mariah Ulrich; brothers, Tyler Tapio, Braydon Tapio, and Riley Tapio; paternal grandparents, Bryant (Sandy) Tapio; maternal grandmother, Donna Lambie; maternal grandfather, Larry Ulrich; uncle, Ryun (Amy) Ulrich; aunts, Jennifer Tapio and Khrys (Jim) Riley; cousins, Ethan and Eric Ulrich, Bexley and Harlin Wittig, Colin, Connor, Katie, and Christian Riley as well as many additional friends and family.
The funeral liturgy for Dylun will be held at 4:00 PM on Wednesday, July 3, 2019 at Holy Cross Catholic Church, located at 309 Desnoyer Street in Kaukauna, with Fr. Donald Everts officiating. Family and friends are invited to gather at the church on Wednesday from 2:00 PM until the time of the service. Please feel free to wear anything blue, wrestling, or animal related. Dylun would love that.
The family would like to extend a special thank you to Officer Krueger and the Kaukauna Police and Fire departments, Vandenbroek Fire department, Outagamie County Sheriffs department dive team, Kayla and Jennifer S. from Fox Cities Victim Crisis Response Team, and finally to the Good Samaritans who helped the boys to safety.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the familys GoFundMe account, or mailed to N3927 Drier Road New London WI 54961. The family also has a MealTrain set up for anyone wishing to donate a meal in their time of need.
- KAUKAUNA, Wis. (WBAY)- UPDATE:
Dylun Tapio was on the verge of celebrating his 13th birthday when he and his brothers embarked on a journey to release a turtle in a retention pond at a Kaukuna apartment complex.
Young Dylun, an animal enthusiast, would not make it to that birthday celebration.
"I didn't want to have to be buying him a casket for his birthday tomorrow," says Jason Tapio, Dylun's father.
Police believe Dylun had been in the pond for up to two hours before he was recovered late Tuesday.
"Dylun was a bright young little boy. He would've been thirteen tomorrow. He loved dinosaurs, wrestling and spending time with his brothers and he loved drawing he was very very artistic," says father Jason Tapio.
"He loved animals. He loved dinosaurs, he loves frogs. He loves anything to do with nature. I would always tell him he's going to be my paleontologist," said Tia Tapio, Dylun Tapio's mom.
At about 9:40 p.m., Kaukauna Police and Firefighters were called to Lamplighter Drive. They arrived to find several people looking in a pond on the grounds of Lamplighter Apartments.
Officers learned that four brothers--ages 7, 11, 11 and 12--had come to the retention pond to release a turtle. One of the boys was on the bank of the pond when he saw two of his brothers struggling in the water.
The boy yelled for help and two apartment residents came running to the pond to help. A woman jumped into the pond and pulled the two boys to safety.
Twelve-year-old Dylun was also in the pond, but no one saw him go under. Rescue crews from Kaukauna Fire, Vandenbroek Fire and the Outagamie County Sheriff's Office Dive Team arrived and started searching the pond. They pulled Dylun from the water and took him to a local hospital.
Dylun was pronounced dead at the hospital.
"The turtle was trying to cross the road and a good a Samaritan ended up pulling over and grabbed the turtle and put it in the yard, and I thought it was a piece of trash. Dylun asked me if it was OK if he could bring it down to the pond and I told him it was OK and ... then this happened," says Tia Tapio.
The family has set up a GoFundMe account for Dylun's medical bills and funeral. CLICK HERE.
Jason Tapio would like to see a fence go up at the pond.
"If you have to have fences around your pool at your homes why don't you have to have them around these retention ponds? They're a lot bigger. They're mandatory at a lot of these places. There should be some more safety," Tapio says. "I'm not saying it totally would've stopped it but it would've been a lot harder for them to get through and get to the water."
The drowning remains under investigation.
"I don't know. They didn't say if he slipped. I don't know what made him go in the water," says Tia Tapio.
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2006 - 2019 (12 years)
