This memorial website was created to remember our dearest Tanner Evan Starkey Flaherty who was born in Great Bend, Kansas on February 10, 1992 and passed away on February 12, 2009 in Roeland Park, Kansas.
From the day Tanner was born, he had this amazing smile and infectious laughter. Tanner lived to make people laugh and was a consummate prankster. Tanner had a very quick wit and could toss out stinging one liners. One time, while at his Grandma Mary's, he hollered that he needed help. Grandma came in to find him with blood all over his arm and pooled at his feet. Now what she didn't know, was that he had poured catsup all over to make it look like he had hit a vein while checking his blood sugar. I'm sure he had given her the fright of her life, but that was just Tanner. Nothing could stop him from getting in a good prank...even the possibility of someone going into cardiac arrest! Tanner also had this way where he could just grin his way out of trouble. No matter how tough I wanted to be with him sometimes or how mad I may have been at him, he could flash me that crooked grin and I couldn't help but smile. Quite often I couldn't even turn around fast enough so he couldn't see that he had turned me to putty again. Tanner also had a knack for saying the opposite of what he really meant and with such sincerity you believed him regardless of what craziness was coming from his mouth.
Tanner loved music of all different genres. During the past few years, he had really begun listening to what I call "old school". A weekly occurrence would be him saying, "Mom, check out this new song"....I would just laugh, because the "new" song was always a something from when I was growing up. For instance, one day the "new" song was It's Tricky by Run DMC. Oh, that was new alright...back in the 80's! He was forever listening to his Ipod. It was his morning ritual to sit and watch ESPN and listen to his Ipod before heading off to school. I was always hollering at him or waving my arms in the air to get his attention because he always had it turned up full blast. Tanner's Ipod contained over 65 hours of music, but you'll never guess what he wanted for his 17th birthday! A bigger Ipod of course!
Tanner had a very caring and forgiving heart. If anyone hurt his feelings or had done anything to wrong him, all would be forgiven and forgotten in the blink of an eye. Tanner never held any grudges.
Tanner was the strongest, most courageous person most of us will ever know! No matter what was thrown in his path, he trudged on with hope that tomorrow would be a better day. The one lesson that we should all take away from knowing Tanner, is that we should face each day with strength, regardless of what adversity we are currently struggling with.
Tanner you will live forever in our memories and hearts. We love you!
| Jordahn |
| Mom |
Tanner was notorious for blaming things that happened on well...no one. I referred to this so-called no one as our "Not Me" ghost like the Family Circle cartoon had. High blood sugars affect your thought process to the extent where you just don't know what you are doing and then it also affects one's memory. I would often come home from work to find misplaced items and more often than not I would find he had thrown away stuff. I'll never forget the time where I found my entire cd collection in the trash along with some other belongings of his. I was so infuriated. When I asked, he would just say, "It wasn't me." It wasn't until the last few years, that I realised what was happening to my things and learned to search the trash before taking it out to the hopper. Only God and the landfill know what he had thrown away before I finally caught on. LOL
| Mom |
Tanner was always so ornery when he was young. It seems like I was always receiving calls from the principals office about his antics. One of the funniest calls I received was when he was at Phinney in Larned and he had made bread balls in the cafeteria and throwing them at other kids across the room. Granted I understood that he was creating a food-fight type atmosphere, I couldn't help but laugh, because it was just too funny. I mean really! He was throwing bread balls, not shooting spit balls. LOL
Another one that stands out in my mind, is when Tanner and I were joined for dinner at the American Legion in Larned by one of his little league coaches that I had a crush on. I think Tanner was about 7 or 8. Anyway, we were eating and Tanner lets out this big burp and I asked him what he had to say...instead of saying, "excuse me", he tells his coach, "You should hear my moms farts, they are really loud." I have never been so embarassed or speechless in my life. What can you say....That was Tanner. : )
| Paige Nicole Bauer |
When I first saw Tanner I thought he was a cutie...then one of my friends Jessica Smith dated him (remember this was like 4th grade haha) and I wanted to date him, so I just kept talking to him and finally he broke up with Jess and dated me :) haha Jessica kicked me in the lunch line for that. But now that we look back on it we laugh about it everytime. The classrooms in the elementary school hang up our class pictures and I made Tanner mad somehow and he poked my eyes out of my picture. I was so mad at him haha! And one more memory is I used to go over to Jessicas house when we got over the fact of me "stealing" him and we used to go outside and play and be as loud as we could so Tanner would come out and play with us. (they were neighbors) :) I miss you SOOOO much Tanner.
| Mom |
One of the many embarassing moments in Tanner's life...When Tanner was little, I would tell him if he was outside playing and couldn't make it inside to potty, he should go ahead and go outside in the bushes or behind a tree. Well, I guess I wasn't as detailed as to where that bush or tree should be located in the yard, as I should have been. Anyway, I was dispatching for the police department back then and one day Deputy Nate Jackson came in and told me that he saw something disturbing in my front yard the other day. He proceeded to tell me how he happened to be driving by and there was Tanner peeing on one of the trees at the edge of the street. I then had a talk to Tanner about where exactly to go. I don't think it helped much as it was reported to me a couple more times that Tanner had been caught peeing in the front yard. Knowing my Tanner, he just didn't care. By gosh, he had to go, so he went! LOL