On May 12, 2015, a month shy of his 30th birthday, Dusty was on a humanitarian mission bringing food and shelter to a region in Nepal that was hard hit by a devastating earthquake. A second earthquake hit that day.

Dusty and his crew were evacuating the wounded to a safer place when his helicopter crashed. Although Dusty did not survive the crash, he saved three people the day he died. Cheryl said, “I spoke with him the day before the accident. He was thrilled to be helping and he was enjoying the kind people of Nepal.”

Dusty attended Wilcox Public School (K-12) and was in the first class to graduate from consolidated Wilcox-Hildreth School. He played football and basketball for the Falcons. He subsequently graduated from UNL with a political science degree and was pursuing his master's in political science at UNO.

After completing USMC officer candidate school, Dusty was commissioned on 2008. He then completed flight school in Pensacola, FL. While at flight school, Dusty met Ashley. They were later married in San Deigo.

Dusty and Ashley subsequently bought a farm acreage north of St Paul. His dream was to build a house there and raise his kids in Nebraska so they would experience "the good life," just as he had.

A true farm boy, Dusty loved to garden. He grew a nice garden while stationed in California and traded produce with neighbors. He also enjoyed woodworking. He made Ashley a beautiful hutch and he refinished an old antique dresser for their daughter, Isabelle, both treasures to be sure.

Isabelle was Dusty’s world. He loved taking her for walks to the park, and he became a little boy again when the two of them would play with her farm toys. What a wonderful smile he had just for her.

Dusty had a lifelong passion for flying. His mother, Cheryl, wrote, “For as long as I can remember, Dusty wanted to fly. He collected airplanes and helicopters. He loved air shows and air and space museums, and even chose to wear clothing with jets or helicopters on them. Much to his sister’s chagrin, most of our vacations included an air base or an air and space museum. His love of flying never diminished, it gave him great joy.”

Because Dusty was tall, lanky, and animated, his flight crew wanted to give him the call name “STICK BUG.” But the commanding officer did not allow that. Instead, his call name became “NO LUKA-SANDWICH.”

An avid Husker football fan, Dusty’s flight buddies knew a Husker coffee mug in his hands was part of his “military issue.”

On June 6, 2015, Dusty was laid to rest at St. Anthony Cemetery in St. Paul. Four days later, his son, Dustin, was born. Noting the wonderful smile that Dusty always had for Isabelle, Cheryl said, “I have no doubt he was there with that same smile for his son."

Dustin Ryan Lukasiewicz - Dusty - was a kind, gentle man with a great sense of humor, and a great love for God, family and Nebraska!