A LIFE REMEMBERED
Day’JhunArmani Nystrom
Always our DJ.
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Day’Jhun Armani Nystrom, affectionately known as DJ, passed away on August 22, 2026, at the age of 20.
DJ was born on January 16, 2006, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Stephanie Nystrom, her firstborn son. From the beginning, DJ brought joy, laughter, and love into the lives of those around him. His mother especially remembers his smile.
DJ was his Oma Birgit’s first grandchild. The day he was born was one of the happiest of her life, a day she will always treasure.
DJ grew up side by side with his cousin Marcus, who was nearly the same age. When his little brother Isaiah, affectionately called Zay, came along, DJ was happy to be a big brother and eager to help. The boys were especially close growing up, sharing birthdays, Christmases, plane rides, and family vacations. So many of their childhood memories were made together.
DJ shared laughter, games, and jokes with his mother, Stephanie, and his little brother, Zay. For Stephanie, those moments together, along with the simple routines of school drop-offs and pickups, are memories she treasures. She misses his voice and his laugh.
DJ was intelligent, athletic, creative, hardworking, funny, gentle, and determined. His quick mind showed itself early. In elementary school, there was talk of moving him ahead a grade in math. That ability to learn and figure things out would stay with him as he grew older.
DJ discovered a love for sports at an early age.
Basketball was rarely far from his hands. DJ and Chuck, Isaiah’s father, shared a love of sports, watching classic ESPN matchups and live games together. Chuck had been part of DJ’s life since before Isaiah was born. Over the years, he became someone DJ could trust and talk to.
DJ’s athletic ability soon took him around the country for basketball and football. At eight, he was playing football with ten- and eleven-year-olds. By ten, travel football had taken him onto college campuses, and at eleven, he played in an All-American game.
He attended City High and Catholic Central, playing basketball at both schools and competing in Gus Macker tournaments. Basketball brought opportunities to compete alongside players who would go on to play at high levels in college. At Catholic Central, he found good coaches in both sports and a community that embraced him. He loved the game itself, whether playing on a team or going one-on-one with someone who shared that love.
He also loved fishing, sometimes on his own and sometimes with his grandpa, Adam.
DJ understood that hard work had purpose.
As he grew older, DJ completed his high school education, worked with his grandpa in the family business, and later took on the demanding physical work of roofing. He was patient and careful with what he earned. Even at a young age, he understood the importance of saving money and building good credit, already laying a foundation for his future.
DJ was always creating something.
His entrepreneurial spirit found many outlets. He made and published music, started a videography service, and helped other artists record their music videos. His creativity found its way into his own brand and his cars, too. By nineteen, he was already thinking like a businessman, learning about sales and profit while finding ways to put his ideas to work.
When something interested him, he gave it his attention and effort. If he did not know how to do it, he would figure it out and keep working until he could do it well.
And then there was his smile.
In a crowd, DJ could be quiet and reserved. Get to know him, though, and there was a funny, goofy, loving person behind that first impression. Those closest to him knew his kindness, his gentle nature, and the laugh that went with his beautiful smile.
His online gaming opponents knew a considerably less quiet DJ. He loved playing video games, and even at three in the morning he could still be talking trash and asking Jiyana for something to eat.
DJ and his girlfriend, Jiyana, had known each other since second grade. They grew closer as they got older, and she was proud to be beside him as he learned, created, and became the man she loved. Their second anniversary was a day she would treasure. There were also nights spent helping him get fiberglass from work off his back with a lint roller. Their life together held moments that were funny, tender, and entirely their own.
DJ was overjoyed when he learned he would become a father.
He loved playing with his little boy and had so much fun celebrating his son’s first birthday. At other times, father and son would be cuddled up, asleep together. He could hardly wait to teach his children everything he knew.
Among DJ’s hopes for his family was a big house with a large backyard and woods, where his children could play and grow up surrounded by love. He wanted to provide for them, to give them what they needed and more, and to make sure they were comfortable.
DJ leaves behind his two-year-old son, Day’Jhun Armani Nystrom Jr., and another child on the way; his girlfriend and the mother of his children, Jiyana Dominguez; his mother, Stephanie Nystrom; and his brother, Isaiah Louis. He is also remembered with love by his ‘bonus dad’, Chuck Louis, Isaiah’s father.
He also leaves his grandpa, Adam Nystrom; his Oma, Birgit Peterson; his Opa, Matthew Peterson; and his GG, Betty Hall-Morgan. He is lovingly remembered by his aunt Nathalie Nystrom and her children, his cousins Marcus, Shylene, Amaree, and Amir Nystrom; his aunt MaryLou Muirhead and her husband, Nate Muirhead; MaryLou’s son, his cousin Malcolm; and his extended family and friends.
Twenty years was far too little time.
There was more music to make, more to learn, and so much he wanted to show his children. As they grow, the people who loved him will have stories to share about their dad: how creative he was, how funny he could be, how determined he was to figure things out. Most of all, they will have this to tell them: he loved them, and he was so happy to be their dad.
DJ, your laughter, your company, and your beautiful smile will be dearly missed. We love you.