Kai Tennison Nesius, 19, of Charleston, West Virginia passed away peacefully in his sleep on December 18, 2023.  Kai was a recent graduate at George Washington High School and had just finished his first semester at Ohio University in the College of Business.  Kai was a natural leader and the president of his pledge class at Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity.

He truly was a loyal and dedicated friend to anyone he ever met.  He was the glue that held his friends together and he brought out the confidence within his close group of friends. He loved spending time with his family and friends and never passed up the opportunity to see any of them at any given moment.  His short life was filled with countless memories from trips to concerts to celebrations.  Kai was a bright light in the lives of all who loved him.  In fact, his very first word spoken was “light”.

Kai never passed up an adventure to explore the world or an opportunity to do something new.  He loved backpacking, camping, skydiving, cliff jumping, swimming, fishing, hiking, and biking.  He thoroughly enjoyed the outdoors and exploring the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone National Park, the Badlands, Sedona, The Grand Canyon, and Canada – just to name a few.  Kai also enjoyed all things sports, hats, animals, driving, and was almost always taking pictures.  Music was a big part of Kai’s life and he knew just the right song to play at any given moment to fit the mood.  Kai was the music.

Kai is survived by his mother and father, Matthew Tennsion Nesius of Charleston, WV and Stephanie Joan Nesius of Athens, OH; his sister, Lola Grace Nesius;  step-mother, Melissa Jean White of Charleston, WV; grandparents, John and Marie Nesius (Charleston, WV), John and June Evener (Athens, Ohio); uncles and aunts, TJ and Angie Nesius (Raleigh, NC), Brian and Markley Hawkins (Rock Hill, SC), John and Selina Evener (Upper Sandusky, Ohio), Andy Evener (Athens, Ohio); cousins, John Joseph Nesius, Lily Nesius, Maggie Pack, Natalie Pack, Landon Hawkins, Hannah Hawkins, Hope Hawkins, Dillon Hawkins, Peyton Evener, and Avery Evener.

A service will be held at First Presbyterian Church, 16 Leon Sullivan Way, Charleston, WV at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, December 22, 2023.  Visitation will be held at 1:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association.

Family and friends may share memories and condolences by visiting https://snodgrassfuneral.com and selecting the obituary.

Snodgrass Funeral Home of South Charleston is honored to be assisting the family with arrangements.