March 17th, 1982 – August 3rd, 2000
A poem by JoAnna:
Tall and strong
Like his heart was wide
Always gathering friends
Who stood by his sideConstant stories
Drove imaginations wild
So grown up
Yet still a childEmotionally strong
Never a fear
Yet always a dry shoulder
For a friends lonely tearFour-bying and fishing
Wild as the sea
A heart so young
A spirit so freeAll of his friends
Sisters and brothers
We lost him to his heart
Still he captured many othersAlthough he’s out reach
Now he’s out of view
He’ll live on in our hearts
Tanner we love you!
That time of year again and feeling nostalgic. Didn’t know what I would find when I googled his name. He was pretty amazing huh? I miss him… I know we all do. Thanks for keeping his memory alive. It’s sure a hell of a memory!
You’re welcome. None of us will ever forget him, nor let his memory fade.
My Heart died with that Lil Big Man. Thank you for writing such a beautiful and true poem about him.
I just saw this for the first time Thank you Shaun for posting this. I love it
That’s my dad. and that’s a lovely description of him and a good photo
You’re very welcome. He’s never far from my thoughts.
Thank you Shaun it’s Beautiful.
I was one of Tanner’s early childhood friends. He was a great friend to me. We had a lot of adventures when we stayed over at each other’s houses. Life took us down separate paths, and I lost contact with him. I wish I hadn’t. I would have enjoyed reminiscing with him as an adult.
Thank you for posting this, it fits perfectly. Even after all these years, it still seems like yesterday….
Happy Birthday dad
Reading this today brings me to tears, just got married and had him in spirit there with me but best of all I had Madison with me. Waylon you were such a great friend to Tanner and always made him smile when he was little so nice to here words from you. It’s always hard to think of him gone but we have his memories and always his love.