Tammy Waddell had devoted 30 years of his life to children. When he realized his life was about to end, he decided that even his funeral could help someone.
He was a teacher and school assistant in Forsyth County, Georgia, the United States, and had a precise request for the day when friends, colleagues and family would meet to greet her.
He didn't want flowers.
In their place he asked to bring backpacks full of notebooks, pencils and school material to be addressed to families with fewer economic possibilities, or to make a donation to Project Connect, a local program dedicated to students in difficulty.
When Tammy died on June 9, 2018, the community responded that desire.
The place of the ceremony filled with backpacks. According to the chronicles of the time, at least a hundred were donated and other donations continued to arrive.
Even the way those donations were taken away after the funeral told a lot about Tammy's life.
About 100 teachers who had worked with her over the years participated as honorary carriers and helped bring the backpacks to their schools so that the material could reach the students they needed.
But for those who knew her, that gesture was not a surprise.
During his long career, Tammy had shown special attention to pupils with greater economic difficulties. When needed, he also spent his money buying school material for students who needed it.
This is why the request made before dying was not simply an original way of organizing his funeral.
It was perfectly consistent with what he had done for three decades.
Even after that day, his name continued to be linked to education: in 2019 the Tammy Waddell Memorial Scholarship was first awarded. The scholarship continued to be awarded until 2023, helping Forsyth County students.
A teacher spends most of his life trying to leave something left to his students.
Tammy even managed to do so at the time of his last greeting.
Instead of something destined to wither, he chose notebooks to fill, pencils to learn and backpacks that other children would bring to school.
His last lesson didn't need a board.