KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — According to Ty Blakely, brother of the late Knox County Sheriff's Office Deputy Tucker Blakely, the decade's birthdays were something of a big deal to the Blakely family.
Tucker was a huge animal lover. Even when he and Ty were kids, Tucker always looked out for cats, dogs, birds, turtles and lizards, according to Ty.
When he passed away, the community gave back so much to the family, that Ty said they wanted to do something to reciprocate. That's when they thought donating to the Union County Humane Society would've been something that would make his little brother happy.
"We just want to give back to the community that gave back so much to us when Tucker passed and we know that Tucker would love this opportunity to be able to give back to humane societies," Ty said.
It was a 10-year age gap between Blakely and his little brother.
When Tucker was born, Ty was in the fifth grade. By the time they got older they formed a bond that was really special.
"We had this special moment when I came, I was in the army, and I came in on leave, and I surprised him at school, and he jumped in my arms, and ever since that moment, we were kind of joined at the hip," he said. "We lived in separate counties, neighboring counties, but usually when he was out of school for the summer, he would come stay with me as much as he could."
Even as they got older and Tucker got married, their bond continued to be very close. Ty said "that was my guy."
But life would change in an instant and would never be the same for this older brother.
It was the day when he found out that Tucker was shot and killed in the line of duty. But not even that could ever take away his fondest memories with his little brother.
"I think two Christmas's ago, we're at our parents house, it was right before Christmas... and my son and Tucker were wrestling in the kitchen, and my son is in the powerlifting and Tucker quite understood how strong my son was," Ty said. "So we ended up having a a broken oven in the kitchen and some shattered glass, which my parents were quite used to raising two boys."
That day was something they used to look back and laugh at, Ty said.
Now, he's marching to do something special for his little brother's birthday month. Even though Tucker may not be here, his memory will live on forever.
"Initially, I was shocked, it took me a long time to process what happened," he said. "There's not a day goes by that I wish I could have took his spot so he could have been here longer with his son and with his wife. I may never have the answers why, but I try to carry the positive memories and the love that."
