Nicholas Richard Rayburn

Nicholas Richard Rayburn, 17, died April 5, 2015, at an Abilene medical center. Nick was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on February 28, 1998, the son of Richard E. Rayburn and Sara M. Crutcher. In 2006 he moved from Portland, Oregon to Abilene. A student at Wylie High School, Nick was a talented and accomplished French horn player, jazz guitarist, composer and arranger. He was a straight “A” student who loved movies, competition rubics cubing, and being an encourager to those around him. He was passionate about school, his band family & friends, and deeply devoted to his family. Nick is survived by his father, Richard E. Rayburn and fiancée Dr. Lyvier L. Leffler of Mansfield, Texas; mother, Sara M. Crutcher of Abilene; brother, Jacob Rayburn, wife Alex, and niece Brooke Elaine, of Tucson Arizona; sister, Lea Rayburn of Abilene; and grandmother, Margaret G. Wilkins of Rutland, Massachusetts, as well as many aunts, uncles and cousins. The family will receive friends from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Sunday, April 12, at The Hamil Family Funeral Home Chapel, 6449 Buffalo Gap Road in Abilene. Viewing will be continuous from 2:00 to 8:00 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. Funeral services will be 10:00 a.m. Monday, April 13, at Southern Hills Church of Christ with Jarrod Robinson and Steve Ridgell officiating. Interment will follow in Elliott-Hamil Garden of Memories Cemetery directed by The Hamil Family Funeral Home. Memorials may be made to the Wylie Band Booster Club, 4502 Antilley Rd., Abilene, TX 79606.