For eight years, Tanya Shannon went to work — week in and week out — at Turtle’s Tap in Morris, always bringing with her a smile and a kind word for her fellow workers.
She also brought with her stories of her four daughters — Brittany, MacKenzie, Emileigh and Sammie — and shared the stories of home life with the girls, as well as listened to her co-workers talk about their families.
“She was a very good worker and brought her family stories to work. We got to know her, like we do everyone that works here,” Diane Eartly, manager of Turtle ’s Tap said. “We’re more personalized, we care for our workers, not only as employees, but as people, too.”
Tanya and her husband, Dale Shannon, were in an automobile accident while on their way home to Ransom from a Christmas party in Ottawa for Dale’s employer.
A La Salle County deputy came across the accident at 1:45 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 4, 2010, during routine patrol on the Grand Ridge-Mazon Road, between East 26th and East 27th roads, near La Salle Generating Station.
Dale E. Shannon, who was driving the car, was deceased in the driver's seat, and Tanya was missing.
Helicopter crews found the body of Tanya Shannon about one mile from the site of the accident on Monday, Jan. 3, nearly a month after the accident.
Tanya’s co-workers held out hope she would be found, and huddled around the television in the days after the accident when the news would tell the story of Tanya being missing.
Turtle’s owner Kevin “Turtle” Krople and his employees knew they wanted to do something to help the family left behind.
“When we started out talking about what to do, everyone had ideas and they came together,” Eartly said. “It came to be two events — one a fundraiser for the children, the other a memorial for Tanya.”
From 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 5, all the servers working will be donating their tips to help the Shannon children, and Krople will match the money raised, up to $2,000.
They got the idea from a fundraising event held at Turtle’s Dwight location, where they raised money for a young person with cancer.
“I presented the idea here in Morris and, of course, they said, ‘yes,’” Krople said. “It helps when people know if they give and give more that the money will be matched.”
On Sunday, the workers will forgo their annual Christmas party to hold a memorial for Tanya at Turtle’s Tap. The memorial service is open to the public.
“We want to show people and her family how much she meant to us,” Eartly said. “To show she has a Turtle’s Tap family as well.”
The family didn’t have a memorial service for Tanya, so the idea to hold it in lieu of the Christmas Party quickly came to mind.
“My duty and responsibility doesn’t stop when I write their paycheck,” Krople said. “The responsibility and duty of a small community is to watch out for one another.”
They are asking those who would like to attend the memorial service to be there by 3 p.m., so they can be finished in time for those who want to watch the Super Bowl to get home to do so.
“If we believe in humanity, we have to take responsibility,” Krople said. “This family doesn’t need something good to happen to them, they need something great to happen to them.
“Our commitment isn’t just for today for this family.”