Nick Van Glahn honored his mother, and wanted to help others. He died from COVID-19 at 29
A year ago, Nick Van Glahn posted a video on his YouTube channel, where he movingly talked about his love for his mother, and how he wanted to make her life better. He also talked about how he wanted to help those in need in Africa who were living in poverty.
Nick and his mother were alone for more than a decade — from the time he was three-years-old, when his father moved out — until his mother married his step-father, Ken Bundrum.
“We were more like partners,” Romana Nikolic-Bundrum said of Nick, who died June 25, from COVID-19 complications at home in Parrish. He was 29.
Still grieving this week, Romana said that she takes great comfort from the video and her son’s loving words.
Nicholas Charles Van Glahn had an impact in the online gaming world and on YouTube, where he was able to reach beyond his quiet, gentle personality, family members said.
After he passed away, the family began getting calls from Nick’s friends in the gaming world, saying how much he had meant to them as a friend and mentor.
Using the online name of SYBE, Nick was well known in the World of Warcraft, League of Legends and Vexx Gaming communities.
“Look how focused, comfortable and articulate he is in front of the camera,” Romana said of Nick’s YouTube video.
Nick grew up in Sarasota and North Carolina. Money was usually in short supply. In his YouTube video, Nick talks about how his mother inspired him to be a better person and to treat others with kindness and understanding.
“When he was 10, I came home and the baby sitter was gone. I asked Nick where she was and he said he had fired her. We needed the money,” Romana said.
“He was always interested in coding from the time that computers first stated coming out. He was my tech guy. He was also interested in anti-hacking,” she said.
That interest led him into the internet technology world and a career with Trinet, a company that provides HR solutions, risk mitigation and payroll services.
When Ken Bundrum and Romana married, Nick gained a new friend and role model. He also gained new brothers and sisters.
“He really stepped up in the family and went out of his way for them. He was good at surprising people,” Romana said. “He was very thoughtful.”
He was also a fan of the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), and once bought tickets so that he and Ken could watch a Conor McGregor match together in Las Vegas.
Ken Bundrum said that Nick and his mother were alone together for about 15 years before he came into the picture.
“He turned 16 the year I met his mother. He was one of a kind and I miss him dearly,” Ken said.
Nick died at home in Parrish.
“He went from mild symptoms to death overnight,” Ken said.
Ken and Romana have made a donation in Nick’s name to a charity in South Africa in Nick’s to honor his desire to help people there.
“I am proud to be his mother,” she said.
Nick Van Glahn was born on Dec. 19, 1990. Survivors include his mother Romana Nikolic-Bundrum, his father Ken Bundrum, his stepmother Debra Bundrum, his grandparents Heddy and Rocco Petrovic, and Zeljko and Harriet Nikolic, his brothers Cody Bundrum and Luke Bundrum and sister Twila and sister-in-law Sheila Bundrum.
He is also survived by his aunt Cathie Nikolic and her husband German Hernandez, uncle Chris Van Glahn and aunt Louise Van Glahn, uncles Desi Nikolic, Stefan Nikolic, Sam Nikolic and Aunt Ruth Nikolic, cousins Nadia Bowen and Desiree and Danny Nikolic, nieces and nephews Camden, Cayden, Remi, Tristan, and Anastasia.
Arrangements were by Groover Funeral Home at Mansion Memorial Park.
This story was originally published July 15, 2020 at 1:27 PM.
