Teen remembered for compassion

By WILL STEWART / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

Tansey Talbert, right, is pictured with her best friend, Candice Brown. (Photo provided)

Like most people her age, Tansey Talbert, 17, was looking forward to the rest of her life. A diligent student, she was studying to take the GED in April and was planning to enroll at Motlow, where she had hoped to begin her studies to become a registered nurse.

But that dream, and many others, are never to be. Early Sunday morning Talbert succumbed to injuries sustained in a Saturday night automobile accident on Short Mountain Road. According to police reports, the vehicle in which she was apparently a passenger left the road for unknown reasons and careened into a ditch.

“This has really affected all the students. I think it’s also opened a lot of eyes,” said Sonjia Winfree, one of Talbert’s teachers in the Opportunities.can program at Warren County Adult Education. “We’ll all miss her very much.”

Teachers and friends described the teen as one of the most caring and compassionate people they have ever known.

“She had heart problems of her own, but that just seemed to make her even more concerned and passionate about other people and their problems,” said Winfree. “I have heart problems too and when I was in the hospital she called to check on me. When my daughter was having seizures she asked about her every day. Even though she had a bad heart, she had the biggest heart you’ve ever seen.”

Friend and fellow student Chelsea Thacker said Talbert’s biggest interest was her boyfriend, Josh Jacobs, who she said had recently given her an engagement ring. She went on to describe her as someone who loved attention and loved to talk, especially on her cell phone.

When she wasn’t at school or with her boyfriend, Talbert could most often be found at Burger King, where she had worked as a crew member for almost a year.

“She always had a smile on her face when she walked through the door,” said Burger King assistant manager Michael Holt. “She was great worker and a great person. Everyone liked her.”

Travis Gipson, who went to school with Talbert and has been friends with her since they were both in the eighth grade, said he will remember the little things about her.

“She had the funniest sneeze I’ve ever heard,” he said. “She also like to cut up and laugh at herself, too.”

“I’m going to miss her dragging her feet, which she always did,” said Thacker. “I was expecting to hear them dragging the floor yesterday, but I didn’t.”