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Dayton Tiedje was his big brother's shadow — trailing 7-year-old Connor to all his baseball games.
The 3-year-old was his grandfather's buddy — always wanting to watch the horses and the John Deere tractors on the Bennington farm where his grandpa worked.
And he was his mother's youngest — a sweetheart who loved to clutch his favorite soft, motorcycle blanket to his face.
That's how Kim Tiedje found her son Monday — lifeless and holding his motorcycle blanket in his hands — less than two hours after she put him to bed with a fever.
Kim Tiedje had picked up Dayton from day care after workers called Monday saying he had a fever of 101.9 degrees.
She brought him to their northwest Omaha home, placed cold towels on him and checked his temperature. It was 101.6. She put him to bed about 6 p.m.
When she checked on him at 7 p.m., he didn't feel any warmer. When she checked him about 8 p.m., he was limp.
She called 911 and rescue squad members tried to resuscitate him, to no avail. Paramedics said his fever at that point measured 104 degrees.
What caused his death is a mystery. Douglas County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Marty Bilek said an autopsy did not determine an official cause of death but the medical examiner suspects the child died of a noncontagious disease. Further tests of his tissue are needed, Bilek said.
When she found her son, Kim Tiedje said, he was clutching his favorite blanket.
“That gives me some comfort,” she said, choking back tears.
So do the memories of her son. A little chunk with a chubby-cheeked smile, he was only 10 pounds lighter than his 7-year-old brother.
And like many little brothers, he was fearless. Dayton seemed destined to be a cowboy on a horse, his mother said. He loved John Deere tractors and toys — his 3-year-old birthday pictures are filled with him beaming, surrounded by green and yellow.
“He would sit in Grandpa's lap, watch the horses and say, ‘My horses, my horses,'” Kim Tiedje said. “He was definitely the tough one of the bunch. He was a boy's boy.”
Kim, 24, a waitress, now has the tough job of carrying on for Connor.
Donations to help cover Dayton's funeral and burial expenses can be made at any Great Western Bank location.
In addition to his mother and brother, Dayton is survived by his father, Duane Donaldson of Omaha; grandparents, Peggy Lang and Jim Lang, both of Omaha, and Claus and Lisa Tiedje of Bennington; and aunts and an uncle.
Visitation will be 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at Westlawn-Hillcrest Memorial Park Funeral Home, 5701 Center St. A graveside service will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Westlawn Hillcrest Memorial Park.
Contact the writer:
444-1275, todd.cooper@owh.com
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