Jesse Orgaard said he would go to bed at night leaving the Skype app on his phone on, just in case Tyler would call. The last time he did, it was about 6 in the morning, the day after Thanksgiving. Orgaard said his son was giggling — and he could hear a roommate laughing in the background — when Tyler asked whether the call had woken him up. He said his son was upbeat and positive about his mission; but then, that was just the way Tyler was about everything, he said. “He was always trying to lift up people,” Orgaard said. Then he hung up and said he’d call me right back,” Orgaard said. But he knew the call back wouldn’t come until he had fallen back asleep — on purpose.

Josie Orgaard said since Monday, they have been hearing a lot of stories about their son from friends who have stopped by to offer condolences. “We never realized how many hearts he touched,” she said. One of those stories was from a former teacher, who told her of Tyler’s kindness to a new student at Century who was having a difficult time adjusting. “He would have lunch with him every day,” she said, just to see how he was doing. Some of those stories, however, weren’t comforting. “We found out he had a lot of close calls,” Josie Orgaard said.

Tyler’s sister, Kristy, three years older, said growing up they fought like a lot of siblings do. But that changed. “He was my best friend,” she said of her brother, protective and always looking out for her. Jesse Orgaard said Tyler’s first passion was being a soldier, but mixed martial arts was a close second. He started training at Bismarck Combat Sports gym at age 15 and made his debut in the sport while still in high school. Kristy Orgaard said it was one of his dreams to get a degree in business management and open his own MMA gym. The family has set up a fund in his name at Gate City Bank to go to the gym in Bismarck where he trained.

Jesse Orgaard said when the notification of Tyler’s death came he could feel himself screaming — but nothing came out. “When the knock on the door came, and I saw those two men in those suits, ... you know exactly what it means,” he said. Josie Orgaard said a part of Tyler came through her when she realized what had happened. She said Tyler was always worried about “the guy on my right and the guy on my left.” She said that was one of the first questions that came to her mind — “How were the others?” Then she worried about how the others in his unit would have to go back to work the next day, carrying on the same mission her son was so committed to completing in the three months remaining in his tour.

Kristy Orgaard said what a lot of people didn’t know about her brother was that he was a very talented musician. She took piano lessons while Tyler didn’t, and it used to make her angry when he would hear a song, then pick up his guitar or sit down to a keyboard and play it like a pro.

Kristy Orgaard said before Tyler shipped out, they had the “what if” talk. She said her brother told her what to do if the unthinkable happened.

"‘Don’t cry for me. Be proud of me,’” she said. “Those were his words.”