Waylon Madison Sauer died on Tuesday, Nov. 14. He was 17 years old.

To know Waylon Sauer was, in many ways, to know the future. Having celebrated his 17th birthday just a few weeks ago, the junior at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School was already putting into action his big plans to change the world. Quietly confident, keenly observant, incredibly empathetic and creative beyond belief, he had so much left to do and so much potential to do it all.

Waylon always did well in school, but recently had an epiphany about his studies, saying to his grandfather, Jeffrey Madison, “If I knew I could get a 98 on tests by just applying myself a little bit, I would have been doing it all along!”

This year, Waylon was taking five Advanced Placement courses and looking at colleges across the country, from Boston to California — where he knew he would major in computer science or computational biology and minor in surfing his beloved waves.

Waylon was to be inducted into the National Honor Society last week. 

No matter how far Waylon set his sights, this true “young man of the sea” was a Vineyarder through and through. He came into the world on the stormy night of Oct. 28, 2006, which would prove to be ironic as he was so measured and calm a kid to the point where his mother labeled him “inertia baby” because he wasn’t going to throw a fit or extend extra effort trying to go from point A to point B.

Waylon could always see the wisdom in enjoying and embracing where he was. The first months of his life came during the Vineyard’s off-season, so his parents Wenonah (Nonie) Madison and Daniel Sauer were able to spend every day with their baby, forging bonds that will never be broken.

A member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), Waylon spent his first eight years in Aquinnah, much of it living on Indigenous land. Beginning in the Turtle Program and Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project (WLRP) Summer Camp at a young age, Waylon came to understand and be proud of his Wampanoag heritage. His love for his tribal community and traditions were deeply ingrained in his life. Alongside his cousin Noah Manning, he gave a speech last July about the history and culture of his people at the United National Indian Tribal Youth (UNITY) Conference in Washington D.C. The young men addressed the 2,500 attendees, Native children from across the United States and Canada, speaking in English and their native language of Wôpanâak. Waylon took great pride in his family’s Island and Wampanoag heritage. 

Throughout his life, Waylon was a child of many interests, often to an intense level that drove his parents crazy, but he was spot-on about preparing for a global pandemic. It may not have been a zombie apocalypse per say, but Waylon was right: it is always smart to have a 30-day supply of rice and beans in the basement.

His obsessions could be short lived, but not all of them. Daniel said through sheer determination and will, Waylon made himself into a good basketball player who made the MVRHS junior varsity team as a point guard last season and was looking forward to this year’s run. Driving by the basketball courts at the West Tisbury School you would often see Waylon out there, practicing his jump shot or getting a pickup game going.

He also volunteered with the Vineyard Unified squad, a Special Olympics basketball program, where he created individual handshakes for his delighted teammates. He truly loved his friends on the team and often sat with them at lunch. Outside of the classroom and off the court, he honed his leadership skills as the president of the Wampanoag Youth Group at the high school.

Waylon had a big heart. He was a happy, easygoing kid who made friends easily, across all young walks of life. He was, in his Dad’s words, “a serious kid who doesn’t take himself too seriously.”

He had a magnetic smile and personality that made him the type of kid you want to hang out with. He was genuine and sincere, and if you knew Waylon, you loved Waylon. For someone his age, he already had a profound understanding and appreciation of the importance of family. He loved his family deeply, ambitiously promising his Mom he would buy her a big beach house someday.

When his baby brother came along in 2008, Waylon was unsure, while at the same time bowled over with love — excited, and maybe a little annoyed, curious, but always so tenderly affectionate. He and Amos became the closest of brothers, even with very different personalities. Watching their relationship grow, their senses of humor sometimes clashing and other times being in lockstep, was watching sheer love and adoration form one of the deepest bonds. They cheered for each other the loudest, proud to share the other’s latest accomplishments. They had each other’s backs, recognizing in an instant what the other needed.

In 2017, the family adopted Jaleah and Zuzu. As Waylon got older and matured, he became his sisters’ unofficial third guardian, the one putting them to bed and reading them their favorite Mo Willems Pigeon books. He was patient and kind with his siblings, and he took his job of looking out for them very seriously.

As the big cousin, he was adored by all of his younger cousins, often followed around by them like little ducklings. He loved and had patience for all of them, and they looked up to him while he looked out for them. Waylon also had a wonderful personal relationship with his Grandmother Angie, having his own room in her home because VHS movie nights were their thing and not to be missed.

In middle school Waylon decided, on his own, he wanted to bolster his education by attending Falmouth Academy over on the mainland. His grandpa Jeffrey drove him to the 7 a.m. boat every morning for two years. This was a special time shared by grandpa and grandson that will be forever cherished. 

Waylon was a young man with an insatiable curiosity and dreams of traveling the world. Surfing in Bali was on his radar, and he was already making post-graduation plans to get his parents to take him to Europe. But he never wanted to be away from the Vineyard for too long, as he loved his seasonal job with the Oak Bluffs harbormaster, the endless summer vibes of pier jumping, surfing, fishing, wolfing down jerk chicken and hanging out in the sunshine with friends. All of this was central to his young existence.

If he wasn’t working or with his family, he was likely on the water or making a plan with friends to get there. Waylon cherished his friends. His innate curiosity, openness to all, fierce loyalty, love for an adventure no matter how big or small and his ability to deliver a perfectly-hilarious line at the perfect moment are just a few of the things that made this genuinely-good soul so loved by them. As pointed out by both Mom and Dad, there was one constant Waylon carried with him everywhere, even in front of his boys chilling in Oak Bluffs: the last thing he always said before hanging up or leaving home was “I love you.” 

This past summer Waylon was accepted into the competitive Forsyth Student Scholars Summer Internship Program in Cambridge. While he was torn between his love of science and spending another dreamy summer on the Island with his family and friends, his dedication and drive toward his goals never wavered. He ultimately chose to live in Boston with his dear cousin Amira Madison and commute to work every day on the T.

At Forsyth, Waylon completed independent and group scientific research studying the effects of alveolar bone loss and how to prevent tooth loss in patients with periodontal disease. He made great friends in the lab and on the local basketball courts after work. It was an incredible life experience and Waylon was truly grateful for the opportunity.

After returning to MVRHS this fall, Waylon became engrossed in a new project. He spent the last few months designing a computer program that could read brain scans, detect Alzheimer’s disease and pinpoint the stage of the disease. He spent time every day writing code and was overjoyed that after reading more than 30,000-plus uploaded scans, the program was reading at a very high rate of accuracy.

Waylon loved learning and devoured all things science. Although he was a year away from applying to college, he had written many drafts of his college essay. He had read it to his Mom many times over the past month and she was full of pride and in awe of the writer he’d become. 

He will be forever missed. 

Waylon was predeceased by his grandmothers Angela Waldron and Dolores (Lolly) Sauer and grandfather Dr. Patrick Sauer.

He is survived by his grandfather Jeffrey Madison and grandmother Terry Sauer; parents Wenonah (Nonie) Madison and Daniel Sauer; brother Amos Tacknash and sisters Jaleah Elizabeth and Luz (Zuzu) Henrietta; three uncles and their families: Patrick (Kim, Molly), Matthew, and Brian (Callen, Angel, Anthony, Joseph); three aunts and their families: Megan (Josh, Emmy, Finn), Lisa (Jason, Neve, Goldie) and Elizabeth (William, West, Abe); his dear girlfriend Lily Antoinette; and of course, the beloved family dog Huckleberry.