Eric Lee Tanner

1961 - 2021

BORN

1961

DIED

2021

Eric Lee Tanner 

March 19, 1961 ~ July 5, 2021 

Eric Lee Tanner (Korean name: Chyun, Chyun Nam) was abandoned as a baby. He spent his first three years in an orphanage, wanting for food, medical care, attention, love. The cold war superpowers that made the Korean peninsula their battleground had left the country in ruins. People could not feed themselves or their families. Orphanages were crowded. These problems were a subject of discussion at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, leading to Eric's adoption on April 10, 1964 by a young idealistic Foreign Service Officer, V Jordan Tanner, and his wife Patricia Nowell Tanner. 

Eric spent his first year of family life in Jakarta, Indonesia. The change was overwhelming for both parents and child. Eric had insatiable needs, and couldn't yet communicate in English. Throughout his youth when he didn't get what he wanted, or do as he was told, there was conflict. Running away from home became a pattern in his life. With his parents and two younger brothers he subsequently lived in Seoul, Korea again; Arlington, Virginia; Karachi, Pakistan, where he enjoyed many good friendships among the international mix of students at Karachi American School; then again in Korea where he graduated from Seoul American High School and was a competitive swimmer and soccer player. His moods remained volatile, but he developed strong friendships and strong senses of humor and adventure. As a teen he once snuck himself and his two younger brothers into a garden party for Miss Universe contestants by posing as a photographer. Somehow none of the boys thought anyone was on to their ruse. 

Eric enrolled at BYU and played on the BYU soccer team before taking time off from studies to serve an LDS mission in Portland, Oregon. After his mission Eric lived with his family for a year in Cape Town, South Africa where he enrolled at the University of Cape Town and thrived in its lively academic and political climate. Eric felt the effects of racism throughout his life and identified strongly with the plight of South Africans of color living under the Apartheid regime at that time. Eric returned to Provo to complete his studies at BYU and became a leading student activist, organizing anti-Apartheid protests, serving as president of Response, the principal student organization for liberal thought and causes, and helping to found Student Review, the most successful alternative newspaper to emerge at BYU. As assistant to the dean of Student Life, Eric organized academic symposia on World Peace and Human Rights, bringing scholars from around the world to speak on campus, managing six-figure budgets while an undergraduate. He studied German, had an affinity for German philosophers, lived at the German house, and for his final term in 1987 chose to study abroad in Vienna, Austria, to hone his language skills. 

After graduating BYU with a BA in International Relations he stayed in Europe, where he felt more accepted and thought people and governments had a stronger social contract. He found love in Gothenburg, Sweden with Gunilla and settled there for a time, becoming fluent in Swedish, working at the Volvo factory, and enjoying the cosmopolitan milieu and friendships of coffee shop society. He backpacked throughout the continent and his European adventures and misadventures were a recurring theme in his life. In one of his poems he wrote about finding a patch of four-leaf clovers near the castle in Budapest, Hungary, pressing a hundred of them into his notebook, then traveling for a month trading four-leaf clovers for food and drink. 

Bipolar disorder typically manifests in one's mid-20s and this was true in Eric's case. Years before the diagnosis became official his life and promising future began to come apart. Backpacking morphed into periods of homelessness. He suffered through cycles of acute depression, with psychosis and schizophrenia when not medicated. The medicines themselves had terrible, debilitating side effects. He bounced between Europe, Portland, Seattle, Boise and Salt Lake City, holding jobs as he could. 

Eric became a beloved fixture on Salt Lake's poetry circuit, hitting the open mics then holding down regular gigs at various coffee shops and bookstores. In 2008 he published a book and cd of his poems: rhythms of the moon, which he dedicated to his mother, "my staunchest supporter." Eric was a remarkably open and honest person, and spoke freely of his mental illness and homelessness. He touched and inspired many people through his poetry, in coffee shop conversations, and with his gentle manner. 

Parkinson's disease struck in his 50's, with painful, persistent tremors. The strong legs that had carried him up and down mountains or on weeks-long coastal hikes no longer worked very well. In later life, as his health challenges mounted, he remained in Salt Lake where his family could better care for him and where dedicated social workers could help navigate the complexities of social services. 

The word "agony" comes from the Greek root agōn, meaning a conflict, contest or struggle, and Eric was a fighter. He survived a year outdoors on the streets of Salt Lake. Many were kind and generous to him. Others were not. When he grew tired of people honking, spitting at him, throwing objects out the windows of moving vehicles, or being questioned repeatedly by the police while minding his own business, he would go into the mountains. He once camped through most of a winter in a secluded spot up Parley's Canyon, only emerging after a particularly heavy snow destroyed his tent. He was tough, and thrived in conditions most would not survive. Eric learned, then internalized the social and moral code of the street. Share what you have; others will share when you are in need. Bear suffering without complaint; others are suffering more than you. Maintain your integrity, and your personal dignity, as much as possible. Be patient. Be kind. Don't judge. 

Eric spent his last few years at the Traditions assisted living facility in West Valley City, where the compassionate staff and other residents loved him for his sociability and generosity. Eric once received a large can of Maine maple syrup as a Christmas present from a family member, who expected it would last him a year. By New Year's it was gone. "We had pancakes and the syrup tasted really good so I shared it with everyone," he explained. He enjoyed many holidays and get-togethers with his brother and his family in Draper, and visits from his brother and his family in New York. Sunday visits from Carri and her children were a bright spot in the week. A vacation in Alaska to visit his dear friend Venessa was a highlight of his final years. He had a circle of good friends who truly valued him-for his honesty, humor, intelligence and perspective-and stuck by him through it all. Every medical professional or caregiver who ever treated Eric remarked what an unusually kind person he was. "We just love Eric!" was a constant refrain. 

On Monday, July 5, 2021 Eric was walking down the sidewalk near his facility in the midday heat. A good samaritan saw he was stumbling and stopped his vehicle to render assistance. He offered water, Eric gratefully drank then collapsed. The samaritan attempted CPR but Eric had left this world. 

Eric leaves behind his father, V Jordan Tanner, two brothers and sisters-in-law, Jeffrey A. Tanner (Janene) and Timothy N. Tanner (Sally) and seven nieces and nephews, who will miss him very much. A memorial service will be held Thursday, July 22, 2021 at 6:30 pm at the Utah Valley Mortuary, 1966 W. 700 N. Lindon, Utah. All are welcome.