Nathan Mark Layland

Nathan Mark Layland passed away peacefully in his home in Laramie, Wyoming on October 8, 2026 at the age of 65, having lived life his own way, with plenty of laughter, coffee, and heavy metal music along the way. He was born July 8, 1961, in Montpelier, Idaho to parents Marquis Layland and Alice Lucille Nate Layland and spent most of his childhood in Ely, Nevada, spending many days as his dad’s sidekick on cowboy and desert adventures. He moved to Kemmerer, Wyoming in his early teens, and made it his home for over 40 years before moving to Laramie, Wyoming, where he spent the last 10 years of his life.

If there is one thing Nate will always be remembered for, it is how good he was at making people feel special, seen, and accepted for exactly who they were, without judgement. It didn’t matter who you were, where you came from, what you believed, or what kind of life you lived, Nate never judged anyone for being themselves, and he didn’t spend his own life worrying about what other people thought of him either. He was unapologetically himself, even if that meant being different from everyone around him. He lived life on his own terms and accepted other people in the same way.

The other thing most people will always love about Nate is that he was funny – REALLY funny. He could make anyone laugh, no matter their age, background, or personality. He had a sharp wit and a wonderfully irreverent, unfiltered, and unique sense of humor. He was always looking for an opportunity to stir up a little trouble just to get a reaction. He had a special way of making kids laugh, and Grandma Kay’s daycare gave him plenty of opportunity to do just that. “Uncle Nate,” as all the daycare kids affectionately knew him, would show up without warning, terrorize the kids, get them riled up and laughing hysterically, and make poor Grandma Kay go crazy and kick him out for bad behavior. If there was one thing you could count on with Nate around, it was plenty of laughter.

Nate had a lot of passions in life, but anyone that knew him knew guns were at the top of the list. He absolutely loved guns. He knew just about everything there was to know about them and loved shooting them (i.e., blowing stuff up!), working on them, buying them, and bonding over them with his closest friends. It was a huge part of who he was, and everybody knew Nate as the gun guy.

Nate was also an incredible and naturally talented artist. During his years in Kemmerer, he created artwork for many people, airbrushing motorcycle helmets and snowmobile hoods; painting signs for local businesses; and even designing headstones for friends and family. His artwork can still be seen throughout Kemmerer and will continue to bring joy to the many people who are fortunate enough to have a piece of it.

Another one of Nate’s passions in life was history. As a self-declared history nerd, Nate would spend much of his time watching documentaries, the history channel, reading books, and just learning as much as he possibly could about the past, especially if it was military history. He loved visiting military museums and would often know more about the artifacts in the museum than the people working there. Dragging him away from a conversation about fighter jets or aircraft carriers was nearly impossible.

Nate’s passion for weapons, the military, history, and art all came together in his favorite pastime – building models. A hobby he picked up as a teenager, he spent the rest of his life honing his skill and creating incredible works of art. His children will remember spending hours with him wandering through hobby shops or watching him at his modeling desk in the deepest concentration as he put together exact replicas of his favorite cars, fighter jets, and tanks. He put his heart and soul into every model he built and was proud to show off each finished piece.

And then there was the music. Nate was a huge fan of rock and heavy metal music, and his love for the genre was infectious. Tool was his favorite band, and if you knew Nate, you knew that you had better like Tool. One of his favorite questions to ask anyone who came around was “Do you like Tool?” and if the answer was no or they didn’t know who Tool was, he would act like he was personally offended in a way that was unmistakably Nate and then put on a Tool song and make you listen to the entire thing. If you were going to spend time around him, you had better learn to appreciate Tool.

Sharing his love for music was one of his favorite things to do. Nate and his big brown station wagon were responsible for taking an entire generation of Kemmerer teenagers to rock concerts. He would load up the car with his own kids and as many of their rock-loving friends as they could fit and would drive them to Salt Lake City, make sure they were safe, and rock hard with them all night long. For many, including his own children, his passion for rocking out was a gift that will stay with them forever.

As much as Nate loved his hobbies and interests, however, there was nothing he loved more than his family. He was a caring and devoted father who loved his children unconditionally. No matter what life threw at them, or what they might have put him through along the way, he was there, and he loved and supported them through it all. His children will find comfort in knowing that not a day went by that their father didn’t think of them and love them with everything he had.

His love for his grandchildren was just as strong. He absolutely loved being a grandpa and found true joy in spending time with his grandchildren, corrupting their minds as he would always say. They loved listening to his “old man stories,” laughing endlessly at his jokes, and playing with his big floppy ears. He had a special place in his heart for each of them, and they all knew just how much he loved them.

Nate was also incredibly close to his own father, Mark, and some of his most meaningful memories were made alongside him riding horses, branding cows, working on leather, fixing things, and fighting about who had whose tools. Their bond was strong and lasted a lifetime. Losing his dad was one of the hardest things Nate ever experienced, and there is comfort in knowing that he gets to be with his father again.

Nate was truly one of a kind in the best ways possible and will be missed beyond measure by the many people whose lives he touched.

He is survived by his daughter, Jennifer Scucchi of San Diego, CA; sons, Justin (Kelly) Layland of Lehi, UT and Jordan (Tera) Layland of Evanston, WY; six grandchildren, Jonathon, Matthew, Sydney, Abigail, Degan, and Erin; two great grandchildren, Archer and Birdie; sister Leslie Hayes; stepmother Kay Layland; step-siblings Loyde Cobb, Jacquie Louie, and Mike Cobb; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. He is preceded in death by parents Marquis Layland and Alice Lucille Nate Layland.

A celebration of Nate’s life will be held at the Kemmerer Stake Center cultural hall November 14, 2026, at 11:00am. This will be an informal gathering to share stories and reminisce about all the laughter, fun, chaos, mischief, and love he gave us all and celebrate Nate in a way that is true to who he was.