In Memory

Evan Tanner

Evan Loyd Tanner, 37, formerly of Amarillo, died Monday, Sept. 8, 2008. Celebration of life services were held at 2 p.m. Saturday, September 27, in the Amarillo Civic Center Auditorium. Evan Tanner was born Feb. 11, 1971, in Amarillo and most recently resided in Oceanside, California.

He was a 1989 graduate of Caprock High School in Amarillo, where he was a two-time state wrestling champion. He later attended Simpson College in Iowa, where he was on the Dean's List.
 
Evan pursued a career in mixed martial arts (MMA). His first fight was in March 1997 in Amarillo, where he won the USWF Heavyweight title. Other accomplishments included being the first American to win the esteemed Neo Blood Pancrase tournament in Japan. Evan continued his career, fighting his first UFC match on Jan. 8, 1999. The highlight of his career came in 2005, when he won the UFC Middleweight Championship at UFC 51.
 
Evan was an avid reader and writer. He always kept a journal, as well as an Internet blog. He was a philosopher and poet. He was a traveler who always sought adventure, and especially loved the freedom of the open road while riding motorcycles.
 
Evan had many friends and fans from around the world. By living his life to the fullest, he impacted everyone who knew him.
 
We will miss you, Evan. Your spirit lives on through the lives you touched.

 

"Believe in the power of one." - Evan Tanner

Survivors include his mother, Sue Craig of Lubbock; his father, Bob Tanner of Albuquerque, N.M.; a brother, Jeff Tanner of Amarillo; two sisters, Brenna Tanner of Lubbock and Paige Craig of Los Angeles; a cousin, Olivia Petty of Amarillo; two aunts, Lynn Petty of Oklahoma City and Loraine of British Columbia, Canada; and an uncle, Loyd Tanner of British Columbia.



 
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10/12/08 03:40 AM #1    

John Hendrickson

I first met Evan while we were kids. I guess we were about 15 years old. We both rode BMX bicycles and thought we were great at freestyling and doing tricks on quarter pipe ramps. We both ended our freestyling careers and became wrestlers as we entered Caprock High School. As wrestlers, we pushed each other to limits neither of us thought possible. Much of our success as wrestlers was due to our wrestling coach - J. Stewart. He was a man who had a deep belief in GOD and always looked to us to do the right thing. This was not always such an easy task because of the environment and the negative influences that were always around. Although, Evan and I developed those beliefs as well as did many of our teammates. Over our high school years, we were a state champion team for two out of the three years. There were many great wrestlers that came out of Caprock High School between the years of 1987 to 1989, but none were devoted to the experience and adventure life held more than Evan. Evan had a zest for life and adventure like no one I have ever met. If you ever had the opportunity to look into Evan's eyes, you could see his amazing spirit within. Here is one of the many adventures I had with the Evan I knew.

Evan lived in a small house right next to a place near Amarillo called Palo Duro Canyon. The house did not even have electricity. Keep in mind this was in 1992. For those of you who do not know, Palo Duro Canyon is just a smaller version of the Grand Canyon. In the early days, cowboys had stretched a cable over the canyon to move goods back and forth rather than ride around the canyon on horseback to deliver or pick-up the goods. Evan told me he would stare at the cable for hours dreaming of what it would be like to ride it across. I came home from the military for a while and had invited Evan to go rapelling with me. Evan knew I was just adventurous as he was, so he made a deal with me. We ride across Palo Duro Canyon on this old cable and he would go rapelling with me, so I agreed sight unseen. We arrive at this place and I look at the cable and think what am I about to do. The cable was extremely old and the pulley on the cable was extremely old and rusty, I think they both were original, so the cable and the pulley was probably at least 70 years old. I looked at the cable and the pulley thinking this might be the end, but being a man of my word, I pulled out a piece of rebar and inserted it through the eye bolt on the pulley. I grabbed a hold of the rebar and walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down. I bet it was 80 to 100 feet to the ground below, so I looked back at Evan and said even if I don’t make it, you still have to do it to. He just nodded his head and said, “I know!” I took a few steps back and then ran and launched myself off the cliff. At first, I thought this is cool! Just as that thought passed through my head, I felt my head and hands start to burn. The cable and the pulley were so rusted that they both started sparking from the friction as I traveled across. My head and hands were burning from the hot sparks hitting them, but I knew I could not let go. I just held on and tried to enjoy the ride. Then the other side started to come into sight. I never thought I would travel faster than a few miles an hour across the canyon, but to my surprise I was probably doing thirty to forty miles an hour. As the other side approached, I braced for impact. I hit the other side like Wile E. Coyote. Through the cloud of dust, I stood up and looked back. Evan just stood there smiling. I climbed back through the canyon and pulled the pulley back for Evan. When I got back, Evan looked at me and asked, “How was it?” I just replied, “You have to find out for yourself.” Evan looked at me and smiled from ear to ear. He grabbed the rebar and said, “I guess I will.” Evan inserted the rebar and ran off the edge. I watched as the same sparks burnt his head and hands. I watched as he braced for impact just before he hit the other side. I watched as he stood up from his cloud of dust still smiling.

That was what Evan was about. No matter what the challenges were or how difficult the obstacle, Evan always kept his word. Most guys would have backed down, but not Evan. Evan was a great man of honesty, integrity, and substance. Evan always went above and beyond to help a friend, and he never met a stranger. He lived life to the fullest as only he could have done. Evan’s grave stone will have two dates separated by a dash, February 11, 1971 - September 8, 2008, but the DASH is what is most important. This represents all the lives he touched, all the adventures he experienced, and most importantly the life he lived. Evan has always believed in the power of one, one person can make a difference, and he did in so many ways.

I am a better person for having had the opportunity to have a friend like Evan. I just want everyone to know we are all devastated with Evan's passing. The memories I have with Evan will live forever. I am extremely proud of all that he accomplished in his short time here. God called home a warrior, a friend, a brother, and an amazing human being. I just wanted each of you to remember the Evan I knew. Rest in Peace and God Bless my friend!

05/02/09 05:32 PM #2    

Guss Alexander

Evan Tanner was many things to me. He was my best friend, confidant and mentor. In the time that I knew him, he was a great inspiration to me and I am sure to those who were fortunate enough to make his acquaintance.

I met Evan at Fannin Jr. High where we both completed our ninth year of school. Even then, I knew that there was something special, uncommon about Evan but couldn't really put my finger on it. What I did know is that whatever it was I wanted to capture or at least be a part of it.

We attended different high schools our sophomore year but we kept in touch. Evan attended Caprock and I attended Amarillo High. Evan wrestled my older brother (Steve Alexander) for the City Championship in 1987. I was rooting for Evan but my brother won. I would normally root for my brother but I think that my brother had beaten me up or something and I was mad at him. After completing the tenth grade, Evan persuaded me to attend Caprock for the last two years of high school. Neeless to say, I have never regretted that decision.

I am not really sure what the situation is today but 20 years ago there was definitely a rivalry between Caprock and Amarillo High. Unbeknownst to many, a few of the Caprock Wrestlers didn't particularly like me because I had wrestled for Amarillo High my Sophomore year. Evan helped in mediating that situation by making them aware that if they had a problem with me then they had a problem with him. Because I had not taken wrestling as serious as Evan did, my Junior year had many ups and downs. However, Evan went on to win his first State Wrestling Title. The summer preceding our Senior year of high school, Evan and I must have spent what seemed like every waking moment doing something to make us better wrestlers. We attended wrestling camps, read, worked out, and adjusted our diets. There was a time when we only drank water, ate fruits, vegetables, fish and fowl. This extreme diet resulted in Evan and I getting into an argument and not talking for about two weeks. What was this argument about you ask? Evan had found out that I had drank a diet coke. He said, "You have to sell out and give it your all if you want to be the best." I thought that was a little a extreme at the time but he was absolutely right. We did take time out to make a few trips to the lake. One of these trips to the lake ended in Evan pushing Bobby Bytheway off of a cliff at Lake McKenzie. That is another story that I won't elaborate on at this time (ask Bobby about it as I am sure the memory is quite vivid). We were on a mission. Actually, Evan had always been on that mission and now I was following suit. This all culminated in Evan and I being chosen as the Caprock Wrestling Team Captains. I was truly honored. We both made it to the state tournament and Evan captured his second State Wrestling Title and in three years.

Evan decided to go to college and I joined the Marine Corps. We chose different paths that separated us physically but we had formed a friendship that would never be broken. On my many trips home, I would always hang out with Evan. Evan, being the adventurous type, always tried to convince me to give up my career in the military and join him in what he called the "Great Adventure". This consisted of working here and there until you had enough money to move to next place. I required a little more structure in my life and never took him up on the offer but was often tempted.

As I am sure you all know, Evan entered the world of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). Through this venue, he was able to show us what could be obtained by complete and total dedication, desire and discipline. He became a World Champion in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Only a select few came make that claim and he was one of the select few.

I took Evan Tanner's words to heart and "sold out" to every desire I have wanted to see come to fruition and it has paid off ten-fold.

It was, is and will always be an honor to call Evan Tanner my friend. I will miss you brother.

Guss Lee Alexander Jr.


06/18/09 07:46 PM #3    

Gwen Orth (Ruhoff)

Evan was a great guy. He was my "husband" in gov-eco class. Although popular, he was friendly to all. Taken way too young. My prayers to his family.

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