Beloved Father Died Shortly After Dancing With His Daughter At Her Wedding
Beloved husband and father, Tim Buchanan, died earlier this week shortly after dancing with his daughter, Michele Howard, at her wedding.
Buchanan was a 54-year-old retired member of the Rock Hill Sheriff’s Department in South Carolina. The beloved father had a heart attack after the father-daughter dance. He died a couple of hours later.
Ben Buchanan, Tim’s son, told Us Weekly that he and his siblings had a close relationship with their father. Ben said he was unable to attend his sister’s wedding because his pregnant wife is due to deliver their son in October, and she could not make the long trip.
“I could call [my father] for any problem and he knew what to do… [My father] calmed us all down. He helped us through the hard times. He was the guy. That is going to be the hardest thing, not being able to pick up the phone and call [our father].”
Ben believes that his father was very happy the day he died.
South Carolina father dies minutes after dancing with daughter at her wedding https://t.co/SvSUtiRkUp pic.twitter.com/fPpLclsP1R
— People Magazine (@people) September 6, 2016
“From what I was told my dad was happy and proud to be in Costa Rica with everyone. He was so happy that he got to walk both of his daughters down the aisle. We don’t want people to think this was the saddest day in the world.”
His wife, Jeni Buchanan, wrote a post on Facebook after her beloved husband died.
“He was the most beautiful soul I have ever known and I will never be the same without him. I know he loved me and our family. Over the years we raised four amazing children, cared for my little brothers when they needed us the most and had even had the honor of a beautiful grandchild.”
The first line of her post rang true for all of their friends and family.
“You never know when the last time will be the last time!”
Friends of the Buchanan family snapped a picture of Jeni and her beloved husband. Jeni added it with her post.
“I am so very grateful for this image of us that our dear friends snuck during our daughter’s wedding yesterday. Little did I know just a few hours later we would lose him.”
MSN reports that another family friend, Jenn Lewis, made a GoFundMe page for the family, requesting assistance with funeral costs for the beloved father and husband. She said the couple loved each other very much, and that Jeni was devastated that Tim died.
“Jeni and Tm were so excited to head to Costa Rica a few days ago for their daughter’s wedding. If you know Jeni, you know how much Tim means to her and how wonderful the love is that they share.”
People Magazine spoke to Sheriff Bryant, from the Rock Hill Sheriff’s Department. He said the entire department is praying for the family since learning that the beloved detective, husband and father died.
“All of our hearts are saddened about the loss of this great law enforcement officer. Tim dedicated almost 19 years to this profession as an outstanding Deputy, Forensics Investigator and most recently Detective in Computer Crimes. His talents will be sorely missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family in this difficult time.”
Ben reached out with a message that is dear to him since his own beloved father died.
“We want everyone to hug their [father] and tell [him] you love [him], because you never know what will happen.”
“During the wedding, after the father-daughter dance, Tim had a heart attack.” https://t.co/xfctXKk9uT #SouthCarolina
— The Sun News (@TheSunNews) September 6, 2016
Jeni talks about how important family was to her husband and how seriously he took his role as a father before he died. She advises that others take care of each other to help prevent a similar tragedy and keep another child from losing his or her father, or another wife from losing her husband.
“Family was the most important thing to him, to the point that he ignored his body telling him something was wrong. He should have gone to the doctor, but he was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to attend our daughter’s wedding … If there is anything you can do for us, it is to take care of yourself and your loved ones. If we can save just one life with our tragedy, then he can be a hero one more time.”
Jeni makes only a modest request from those offering assistance at this time.
“For now, just pray. He was always the one to make us feel better when things went wrong so we need all the prayers we can get.”
[Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images]
