Tate William Spier, 19
formerly of Sartell
June 12, 2000-Aug. 16, 2019
PFC Tate William Spier, 19, died in a car accident on Aug. 16, 2019, at the U.S. Marine Corp. Headquarters in Quantico, Virginia.
A celebration of Spier’s life will begin 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019 at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 1300 S. Sertoma Ave., Sioux Falls, S.D. Visitation with the family will begin a half hour prior to service time. Miller Funeral Home in Sioux Falls, S.D., is in charge of arrangements.
Spier was born June 12, 2000 in Littleton, Colorado, during one of the largest forest fires in Colorado history. Of course, he had to make sure something huge was going on when he entered the world! He spent his childhood in Littleton and then Sartell from age 5 to 12. With his curious nature, he had to go around the entire neighborhood and introduce himself saying, “Hello, my name is Tate, T-A-T-E.” Making the rounds every day and reporting back on the goings on, making friends with anyone and everyone along the way! He spent every waking moment outside playing nerf guns, swimming and exploring on his beloved bike; a ball of energy ready to go from sunup to sundown.
In 2012, his family relocated to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where he jumped right into life as an outgoing seventh-grader at Memorial Middle School. Then off to Roosevelt High School where he played football, threw shot put on the track team and excelled in powerlifting where he placed second in state competition for his weight class. He lived an exuberant high-schooler’s life and loved hanging with his friends. With his maturity level, (since he was 4 years old, we always said he was 4 going on 40) he held several part-time jobs throughout his high school years. He graduated from high school in June 2018 and was already chomping at the bit for the next step of his life.
Since Spier was in first grade, he always aspired to be a U.S. Marine. When he graduated high school, he started the physical and mental preparations to go through the qualifications/testing phases required. He was accepted and officially sworn in on Sept. 11, 2018, then shipped off to Marine Corp Recruit Depot in San Diego on Nov. 11 to begin 13 weeks of intense training. He passed the final rigors of the Crucible, which is a 3-day, little food and sleep and 45-mile hike to earn his Eagle, Globe and Anchor which signifies that he is now and forever will be a U.S. Marine. After bootcamp, he was assigned to Infantry Training Battalion at Camp Pendleton, California where he excelled in marksmanship and was his platoon grenadier. With ITB completed, he was selected for Marine Corp Embassy Security Group training in Quantico, Virginia. During this training cycle is when his life ended abruptly and far too soon. For the last nine months of his life, Spier was doing EXACTLY what he dreamt of doing since he was a little man.
Survivors include his parents: Russ and Elizabeth Spier (Chommie), his brothers: Morgan, Griffin and Sawyer, all in Sioux Falls. Grandparents: Elden and Glennis Spier and Donna Chommie of Bismarck, North Dakota. He was preceded in death by his grandparents: Glenn and Agnes (Sam) Hillestad and Peter W. Chommie.
All memorials and donations will be used for a scholarship fund under Spier’s name for the Roosevelt High School football program to help players not able to afford camps and activities.
Spier is/was like a shooting star, shining bright, moving at light-speed and gone FAR too soon.
He would want everyone to remember both of these: “Go Big or Go Home” and “It Is What It Is”!
For obituary and online registry please visit www.millerfh.com.
