Declan Wyatt Hart

June 16, 2015 – August 28, 2026

On August 28, 2026, the world lost Declan Wyatt Hart at the tender age of 11. He was a boy who was deeply wanted, fiercely loved, and whose absence leaves a void that can never be filled. Declan was still becoming himself, and he packed an extraordinary amount of living into his eleven years.

Between the innocence of childhood and the dignity of manhood lives a remarkable creature called a boy. Declan was bright, funny, curious, and unapologetically himself. He had a massive heart and a vibrant presence that was impossible to miss. He could be mischievous and tender, determined and impulsive, thoughtful and hilarious. He felt things deeply. He questioned everything. He wanted to understand the world around him and rarely accepted that something simply was when he could discover why.

Declan was an old soul wrapped in wild energy.

He needed to move, create, build, explore, and learn. Some interests changed and grew as he did, but that restless curiosity remained at the center of him. He loved the outdoors and the freedom of being outside. He played soccer, baseball, and swam, went to Scouts, rode horses, hiked, and found adventure wherever he could. He loved to build things and figure out how they worked. As he grew older, that same curiosity found new places to live: in coding and robotics club, in creating with his friends in animation club, in working hard on track for Beta Club, and in every new idea that captured his imagination.

He loved to travel: new cities, new restaurants, new places to explore, new people to meet. Declan wanted to experience the world. He was always looking, asking, trying, and moving toward the next thing.

There were so many ways he touched people’s lives. He loved to laugh, made people think differently, was absolutely certain he was grown. A boy whose pockets might contain treasures no one else would understand and whose energy could fill a room.

There was also the tender child beneath all of that wildness: he loved deeply, formed friendships quickly, had big dreams and new ideas, and was still discovering who he would become.

Watching Declan become himself was one of the greatest gifts his mother could have known.

For his mom, Lauren, being his mother was her greatest pride. She loved every version of him: the little boy, the wild boy, the curious boy, the funny boy, the complicated boy, and the young man he was beginning to become.

Their life together was magic built out of ordinary days: school runs, sports, adventures, travel, meals, late-night conversations, laughter, discussions, discoveries, and quiet moments in between. They grew up together in many ways. The small moments they built together have now become everything.

There is no making sense of a life cut tragically short. Eleven years was not enough. There were still places to go, things to build, questions to answer, friendships to deepen, jokes to tell, adventures to have, and so much more of Declan waiting to emerge.

The world will continue moving, indifferently and impossibly, even though his family would give absolutely anything for time to stop—to have one more ordinary morning, one more conversation, one more laugh, one more adventure, one more chance to watch him become whoever he was going to be.

But Declan's life will be measured by how completely he lived, the people who loved him, the friendships he made, the laughter he created, the questions he asked, the things he built, the places he explored, the dirt on his face, the treasures in his pockets. By the enormous heart inside that wild, wonderful boy.

Declan Wyatt Hart left an indelible mark on everyone fortunate enough to know him. He will live on in the stories we tell, the places we traveled together, the things he taught us, the echoes of his laughter, the friendships he left behind, and the memories we will fiercely guard.

Declan will always be the boy his mother was given the extraordinary privilege of watching become himself.

I love you beyond the infinities. -Mom

Declan was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and a student at Saddle Ridge Middle School, where he was a member of the robotics team and the animation club.

He was preceded in passing by his loving aunt, A. Kristen Hart. He leaves behind to cherish his memory his loving and dedicated mother, Lauren Janette Hart, of Rock Spring, GA; his brother, Kaleb Kade Herzner, of Cincinnati, OH; his grandparents, Victor and Jeannie Hart, of Blaine, TN, and his many aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Family and friends will gather to honor the life of Declan at a graveside service on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, at 2:00 PM, at Eastview Memorial Gardens, 1320 Andrew Johnson Highway, Strawberry Plains, TN 37871, with Brother Stephen Cupp officiating. Following the graveside service, the family will hold a private dedication. All are welcome to attend the reception afterward at Buffat Heights Baptist Church, 2800 Mill Rd, Knoxville, TN 37924

Online condolences and fond memories may be shared with the Hart family at www.mccartyevergreen.com