On Friday morning (4/15/11) I received the shocking news that my good friend & co-worker, Thad Tranbarger had passed away from a massive heart attack the night before. For a moment I thought it was a joke as Thad always brought his goofiness and laughter to work. I was devastated and heart broken when I realized the truth. We had worked together for 7 years. What's weird is that we were just goofing off the day before and he seemed just fine. He was only 47 years old and had gotten back on track of eating healthy. How could this happen? I was and am still in a bit of a shock.
I remember that Thursday I asked his advice (as usual) on my degree plans. His advice was to get a degree in what I loved the most regardless of the pay. He said he wanted to be a chef! He always encouraged me to go for what I loved the most no matter what - to live life to the fullest; to never regret and take time to really enjoy life. Even though I never met his wife, he had such joy when he talked about their relationship. I admired that they did so many things together. He provided her with so much support and loved spending time with his granddaughters. I can't imagine their little hearts breaking.
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| Thad's joke backfired on him on this day! LOL |
Going through this loss reminds me of a little of losing my Grandma Jean and Dad all over again. Thad had a quality similar to theirs. He brought sunshine and laughter into our office and always had a positive outlook about life. Thad was like having a big brother at work. He loved to joke around but help people out at the same time.
Coming to work, a strange emptiness surrounds us now. You struggle to be strong and deal with the pain, to move on. But we are not robots and we have emotions. For some, it's easy to share feelings while others tuck their emotions away to hid the pain, to be stronger. For me, remembering his joy and his laughter helps ease the pain.
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| This was our nut ball - Thad! He would kill me for posting this! |
This is life....full of new beginnings and losses. What I hope to learn from this loss is to not be afraid of Life or Death. To take Thad's advice and live life - to enjoy every moment, every person, every pain, every joy, and yes, even sorrow, for God has the Plan, not us. All He asks is for us to Trust and Believe in Him and His Plan.
Enjoy this Moment as if it were your last....
We Love & Miss You, Thad. PCS will never ever be the same :^(
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