Tanya Coburn

We all gather here today to remember our dear loved one, Tanya Coburn. Often referred to as "earth angel", by many who knew her.. For anyone who knew her, her love of pink was no secret. Pink shirts, pink ponytails, pink steering wheel cover, and..... pink underwear. (that often to her surprise showed as she bent over). She had the same love for Christmas; every year she had to put up more than the last. And if neighbors got a string up before her, the race was on and she was out there getting something put up. It brightened her day to see people stopping to take a closer look. She loved it so much that often her decorations were up until well....March or April. She mainly just lost that lack of motivation to take them down as there is nothing beautiful to see at the end.

She loved like no other I have ever met. She loved from such a deep inner place, even when someone had seriously done her wrong, she still loved them. She did not necessarily want to see them everyday and may not have loved them as much but certainly still loved. She loved her family, friends, her pets.... the bird she hit with her truck that she brought home to try and fix.. etc. The most amazing part of her love was her ability to truly love without conditions.

As most of you will know she fought depression and many other struggles as well, for many years but amongst it all she NEVER gave up. I mean she definitely had her moments of wanting to give up, but she always came back fighting to keep going. And once she got an idea in her head there was NO stopping her.... Like the time she wanted a closet in her bedroom. She took a hammer and started smashing the wall out. She didn't measure or anything of the sort, just went for it. After the hole was what she thought, big enough, she called a friend and told him she needed help.

She never wanted anyone she knew to ever feel alone. She at one point made it her duty to make sure nobody that she knew was alone. She once had a teddy bear that she had been given that was named "me". As in it was her, Tanya. When she was originally given the bear she was told that when she gets upset she is to hug it. In a way she was "hugging herself". The people who made this for her said it was because she did not show herself enough love or compassion.

She was away from home one time when a friend of hers was really upset. So she called another friend, had him go grab the bear from her house and drop it off at her girlfriend's house just so she could have a hug from "her". That is just how she was.

Her family was so important to her. They were her world. The light on a gloomy day. She was so excited every time her twin had another baby. She couldn't wait to have another bundle of joy to love. And being a twin was immeasurable joy for her. She always felt so close with her, even as a little girl. They truly were best friends. Sometimes when the two of them got together they were so funny. They would get in these hyper moods and just laugh and laugh or play jokes on each other. That never got old for them. I'm sure that even now, she will find a way to still play jokes on her sister from heaven. She used to joke that if ever she died she would be at her own funeral sitting on someone's shoulder.