Kyle Joseph VerMaas was born October 14, 1993, to Randy and Lisa (Lierz-Pius X ’82) VerMaas. He has one brother, Connor (Pius X ’13). He attended St. Peter’s in Lincoln and graduated from Pius X in 2012. Kyle loved to read and his favorite subjects were math and science. He would challenge himself by taking the advanced classes. His favorite teachers were the ones who would push him to excel. At the time of his death on March 16, 2014, he was a second year Biological Systems Engineering student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he was on the Dean’s List. Before he became ill, he had found out that he was going to Toledo, Spain, for a Study Abroad experience where he would have completed his minor in Spanish. Kyle loved the engineering program and dreamed of one day developing new bioprosthetics and traveling the world.
Kyle was mischievous and loved to have a good time. He was fiercely loyal to his family and friends—and he had many. He loved to hunt deer (he always got the biggest buck), go fishing with his dad and brother, waterski, wakeboard, play pickup basketball, work out at the gym, and spend time with those who meant most to him.
Kyle was not perfect, but he tried hard to always do better. His Catholic faith kept him grounded. He shared with his mom that he had attended churches of other faiths and knew that he would always be a practicing Catholic—and thanked his parents for sending him to St Peter’s and Pius X. He was a member of the Newman Center at UNL and attended Mass there.
Kyle would have been honored to have a scholarship in his name to help others like him attain a higher education.
The Kyle VerMaas Memorial Scholarship is awarded annually to a Pius X senior with a GPA of 3.5 or greater, planning to attend a 4-year-college in a STEM field of study. This scholarship is not a financial need based scholarship; however the family would like it to benefit a student who does not otherwise qualify for grants or full ride scholarships.
