The Sharpe Family
Our family is not unique. We started out in Hilliard Ohio in 1996. Dan and I met when we were 10 and best friends growing up. Romance didn’t come into the picture until we were 27. What a whirlwind! We bought a house and got married within that year. Ashley, our firstborn, just shy of two years later and then came Tyler 16 months later. The kids grew up as twins and were full of laughter, smiles and joy. When they were two and three, we bought land and built our dream home in Thornville, Ohio. Life was busy and fun, but we had a ball! Every Friday night was family game night with the kids picking out a movie to watch in the background and one of many boardgames to choose from to play. Even when Ashley graduated from high school we still had that tradition.
On November 12, 2016 all of it changed. Ashley came home from college that Friday, but Tyler was invited to a bonfire to celebrate a huge cross-country win. He would be home that next morning. It never happened. Early on the 12th, Tyler was killed in an automobile accident that would forever change so many lives. There was a huge cover-up, investigation and trial. No winners all-around.
January of 2017 our family set up a scholarship fund in Tyler’s name. We wanted to give kids going to college a little help if we could. Boy, has it grown. To date we have given over $10k in scholarships, we have two main fundraisers every year to build the fund (5K and a Golf outing) and have recently established Tyler’s own foundation to spread scholarship opportunities beyond the cross-country arena. Tyler’s book is also on the horizon.
