Nicholas Charles Schewe was raised on the headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay and enjoyed fishing, crabbing, boating, swimming and collecting whatever treasures he could find. He was a young adventurer that never outgrew his adventurous spirit. From the age of 6, he learned all he could about the ecosystems of the Bay and all that involved being a waterman. As he grew, he loved to help his family with docking, setting the boat lines, pulling the anchor and cleaning, waxing and keeping the boat in good condition. This was clearly his passion! In the meantime, Nicholas “Nick” spent many hours serving in his church and with a local food bank to understand how important loving and serving others is in this life. At age 10, he made the choice to get baptized and become a follower of Christ. This decision became a thread that was woven throughout the rest of his life.

From then on, Nick enjoyed making new boating friends, even adults, and he learned to offer help to others with any job he could do. His love for boating eventually led him to a career as a yard worker at McDaniels Yacht Basin. He was well loved by the customers and often went above and beyond to help the marina and customers whenever he could. He also was well loved among his family’s boating friends and was offered multiple marine jobs while he worked at Oasis. When he finished high school, Nick decided to pursue a career in boat mechanics and was accepted to MMI- Marine Mechanics Institute- in Florida for his training. While it was difficult for him to leave his family and friends, he decided this was his next step and took the leap.

He returned after his training excited to use his new skills and spent one additional year at Oasis working at Shelter Cove and doing every job he was asked to do. One day he came home and told his mom he met the girl of his dreams and if he could convince her to go out with him then she would be who he was going to marry. And sure enough, Breann was to be his bride and he took her to New York to ice skate at the Rockefeller Center during the Christmas holiday. This had been a childhood dream of hers for many years and it was during that trip that he proposed and she said yes!

A year went by and Nick was offered an opportunity in Ocean City, MD where he could practice new skills and learn about different environments and boating. His adventurous spirit served him well as he took a position at Sunset Marina and thrived! He learned many new things and got a lot more practice at Sunset as it was a much larger marina. He made new friends and helped in every area he could- even helping the fisherman unload their catch! He was so well loved that a charter fisherman boat offered him a traveling job for the winter as a first mate. He declined but was very happy about the offer.

During the winter months, he continued to work daily but also worked on his wedding plans- the date had been set for October of 2024! Nick and Breann were extremely excited and were saving money for the upcoming wedding and to purchase a home together. Everything was falling into place! Nick was promoted 3 times during the course of that year and it was a happy, exciting time in their lives...

And then, tragedy struck. On a dark stormy night, January 12, 2024 Nick and Breann had gone to a friend's house to have dinner together after a long day at work. Nick and his friend, Liam, had gone out to buy steaks to cook for dinner and decided to go to a grocery store further away so he could surprise his Bre with “the best bouquet of flowers” as her birthday was the next day. The storm was getting worse by the minute. The boys were on their way. Liam drove and Nick was the passenger. They got the food & flowers. On the way home, they took a dark back road, one can only assume they were thinking it was quicker. They accidently hydroplaned off the road and hit a tree on the passenger side. Nick was killed instantly. The boy who was so greatly loved by so many was gone. At his funeral, over 500 people came and shared how much he touched their life. So many lives Nick had a positive impact on! People his family knew and those they didn’t. Many were so grateful for his life and his willingness to serve and love others.
A bride lost the love of her life - her soon to be husband. A brother lost a sibling. A sister lost her best friend. And parents lost their happy, adventurous son who loved life and had big dreams ahead. The loss is not just on that day, but every day from that day on. Dreams are left unfulfilled. No wedding. No big careers. No grandkids. An empty seat at holidays and birthdays.
A hole in the heart of those who knew and loved him so much.

In the spirit of who Nicholas Charles Schewe is and was, a scholarship has been set up at Cecil Community College to benefit the Marine Service Technology Program in Nick’s name. His legacy lives on in loving his community and the Chesapeake Bay he so greatly enjoyed.