Landen Montanio was born February 24th, 2002 in Omaha, Nebraska to Elizabeth Pavlik and Michael Montanio. Landen grew up in Yutan, Nebraska and attended grade school at St. Wenceslaus and continued to high school at Bishop Neumann Catholic High School.
From a very early age, he was a wonderful and charismatic boy who always looked up to those around him. Landen loved working in the yard with his mom and working side by side with his dad in his welding shop. Growing up he was always seen with his two cousins, McKinley and Chisum Wilson, who treated him like he was their own sibling. Together, the “three musketeers” were involved in 4H showing horses, cattle, and pigs. They spent many great memories together; whether it was blasting the radio and singing Eric Church songs on their way to horse practice or ending a day by throwing Landen into the livestock tank. He also loved playing online video games with his many friends and, best friend, Austen Hanel late at night.
In high school, Landen was involved in wrestling, FFA, FBLA, trap shooting, and he was a part of the National Honor Society. He graduated from Bishop Neumann in May 2020 and attended the University of Nebraska-Omaha majoring in construction engineering and finished his first year of college. Landen had plans to switch his major to construction management as he planned to join his father’s business and eventually planned to start his own company, LMM Design. Landen was already making custom strut bars for classic vehicles, including his own pride and joy, his ’02 Trans Am WS6.
Landen also loved to travel. He loved to go on weekend getaways with his dad to the mountains in Colorado to go snowboarding. They would spend hours talking and enjoying their time together. Landen cherished his spring break getaways with his mom to Disney World where they would spend all week hopping from park to park and riding Landen’s favorite ride “Splash Mountain”. He was also able to explore other parts of the world with his high school classmates when he traveled to London and Scotland in the summer of 2019.
Landen had many friends who loved and cherished him for who he was as a person. There were many memories of his big GMC pickup or his Trans Am that were full of laughter, smiles, and times that will be cherished forever. He also had a wonderful and loving relationship with his best friend and girlfriend, Jasmine Sharpe, with whom he loved deeply.
As a tribute to Landen, a scholarship fund was established to benefit a qualifying Bishop Neumann student participating in the FFA program, $2,000 for college tuition assistance each year.
