On the 10-year anniversary of Tyler’s tragic climbing accident we honor her memory. We love you sweet Tyler and are happy you finally have your faithful companion Milly there with you.

Thank you all for the kind words and support over the last 24 hours. It really means a lot and has helped.  

I’ve had strange feelings this morning. I feel like I need to get up and tend to Milly, to take her out and to feed her and to give her the  morning meds. I look at all the little spots where she used to lay and she’s not there.  

I’m a very routine person which of course can be both good and bad.   I gave Tyler the routine machine gene and she shared it with Milly.  That’s why Milly and I got along so well too.  It will take some effort to break the old routines and start new ones.

I recently read the book “A Dog’s Purpose” and the biggest takeaway for me was what the dog’s purpose in life was.  And that purpose was to love his owner, be with his owner and to make his owner happy.  That’s pretty simple.  Milly you did that gloriously and made my life better along the way.   

God bless you sweet doggie.  

Milly’s Eulogy: 15 wonderful years 3/21/2010 – 8/06/2025

In 2010 Tyler rescued this sweet dog but in fact it turned out that Milly rescued Tyler.  The relationship was unbelievable and unlike no other master dog relationship any of her friends and family had ever known. They were inseparable and did EVERYTHING together.  Ten mile runs, hiking up the back country in Jackson WY and skiing down in waist deep powder with Milly following in Tyler’s tracks.    Upon Tyler’s passing in 2015 Milly became a part of my life and rescued me in my grief for the loss of Tyler.  This sweet little loving dog provided immeasurable joy to Tyler for their 5 years together and for the last 10 years to me and Teresa in our lives.

Milly quickly adapted from a mountain dog to a beach dog and she loved the beach and life on the outer banks.    She enjoyed fetching tennis balls in the ocean, digging up ghost crabs on the beach for hours, chasing rabbits in the neighborhood and especially boat rides.  Milly loved to sit on the bow of the boat at 30 MPH with the wind blowing in her face.  On one of our last boat rides we were fortunately blessed with a warm day and calm winds and as fate would have it, we happened upon a school of dolphins.   Dolphins were Tyler’s favorites too.  And both Tyler and Milly have been known to jump from the boat in their pursuit of “swimming with the dolphins”.   We have the video.

I had hoped and prayed that this day would never come but that’s simply not possible.   A little piece of the Gardner, Hackney, Desmond, Tomlinson and Strandberg families passed today as Milly left this earth to go to that doggie heaven in the sky.

To Milly:  I will miss you so much. I will miss sleeping and cuddling, in earlier years our morning and evening walks, I will miss giving you that last bite of whatever was on my plate.  You were always there to greet me with that tail just a wagging away and a lick on the face. No matter how bad my day may have been, you were always there to brighten it. You were my little black shadow and although that shadow is no longer there, I know you’ll be with me in other ways.

God bless you Milly, my heart is broken.   You were and will always be the best dog ever. We love and miss you.  You go be with Tyler.  She’s been patiently waiting and calling for you.

The memories will live on forever until it is my time to come and be with you again.

Today is a difficult day for the Gardner and Strandberg families. It was 8 years ago that lives changed with the tragic climbing accident on Teewinot that took the lives of our Tyler and her good friend Catherine. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about what your life would be like if you were here on earth with us. We love you and we miss you and you will live in our hearts forever. Rest in peace sweet Tyler.

Being up here, talking about my wonderful sister is the easy part of this day. Talking about how incredible she was and the way she lived her life is effortless. And much of what I am saying is a compilation of the beautiful words and thoughts that many of you have shared with me over the past week.

Tyler and I are 21 months apart. She was one class above me so much of our life was shared- friends, books, cars, clothes, bedrooms, and thus later separate closet doors with padlocks on them. As many sisters do, we had our fair share of fights. There was the one fight about Zac Hansen vs Taylor Hansen that resulted in a busted chin. The first time our new neighbors ever saw us, we were in our driveway going to school- Tyler was sprawled out on the hood of my moving car screaming at me to take off her jeans. Our relationship wasn’t always the stereotypical big sister-little sister dynamic. I mean heck I was the one who told her the truth about Santa.

Tyler would want everyone in here to be smiling, so I want to share a few of my favorite Tylerisms. She was a brilliant straight A student, but she had a blonde moment a time or two, which we referred to as Tylerisms. On my wedding day, she looked so beautiful, but the poor thing had put her bridesmaids dress on backwards and had no idea. And my grandfather will never forget her worst Tylerism- when she voted for Obama.

If you knew Tyler, you knew she was fearless. Who goes snorkeling with a torn ACL? Tyler. Who goes hiking on crutches? Tyler. Who dives off a moving boat because she saw dolphins and wanted to swim with them? Tyler. Who spends an hour hiking up a mountain with her dog Milly, just for the thrill of a 30 second ski ride down? Tyler. I swear sometimes I wonder if one of us was adopted.

She lived her life like a wild adventure, often reminding me of the book and movie “Wild.” But she would be so mad if she heard me compare her to that “gaper movie” because I watched it with her and she was muttering under her breath the whole time about how Reese Witherspoon didn’t have her pack on right or wasn’t pitching the tent the right way. But the fact that Tyler spent 3 days in the Maob desert of Utah camping and hiking with only her dog Milly, is put quite simply, Wild.

To be honest, I feel like a piece of my heart has been ripped out and a light inside of me has died. But Tyler would be so disappointed to be the reason for anyone’s tears or heartache. Tyler loved to make people laugh, smile, feel inspired, be outrageous with her. Nothing made her feel awkward or uncomfortable. We ourselves have to find the strength inside of us that she had every single day, use that strength to honor her memory, remember the wonderful times and do something with our own lives. Go after our own dreams. Do what makes us happy, just like she did.  I hope everyone can feel peace in their heart knowing that when Tyler passed, she was the happiest she had ever been in her life. She told us constantly, almost daily, “I love where I live”, “I love my life” and “I love yall.” One week before she left us, she had just finished a rock climbing hike and her exact words were “I’ll die happy after that climb.” She wasn’t done yet. She was planning to get her master’s degree in social work so she could continue helping others in need the way she did with the boys at C V Ranch. And she still hadn’t married Andy Roddick. But in 28 years she lived 10 lifetimes more than many of us. She did not waste one second of her beautiful life, so I urge all of you to do the same. She was truly one of a kind and I am so so proud of you Ty.

I want to close with a poem that I wrote for Tyler for her 10^th birthday. Because what 10 year old doesn’t want a poem from their little sister as a birthday present? But I can’t believe what I wrote 20 years ago still resonates so deeply in my heart.

I have my own kind of hero, but she’s not a worthless zero.

She’s my role model- pushing me to the top. She’s always there giving me all she’s got.

She’s my hero everything I hope to be. She’s my big sister, she means so much to me.

She’s always there, even when I’m down. Her special smile wipes away my worst frown.

She is athletic and courageous, very caring. She is responsible and respectful, very sharing.

She’s smart and dependable, a good example to me. For every locked door, she is my golden key.

She is loyal, friendly and nice. She’s a great friend of mine. I’ll always watch her, I’ll be right behind.

I’ll always watch her, to see where I need to go. I watch her face, her step, her turn- they all help me know.

So remember now sister, I’ll always watch you. Never forget either, that you’re my hero too.

It was just 6 years ago today that our lives and and the lives of so many friends changed with Tyler’s passing. Often times our minds want to play the “what if” game. It won’t bring her back but I guess it is just a natural tendency. God bless you Tyler. Never, ever forget how loved you were and will be forever. We miss you terribly and you are forever in our hearts.