Funeral Costs for Tony's Family

On May 30th, a little after 11 pm, my dad, Tony Wayne Skaggs passed away. He fought hard to stay with us but his heart just couldn't keep going, even with the doctors and nurses doing everything within their power to keep him with us.

In order to allow us time to process this sudden death and grieve, his timeline and tags were turned off. This was in no way to stop others from grieving but to help us try to understand what went wrong, to process this major loss to our family, and allow his wife time to grieve in her own way. Over 40 years of marriage will take several days, if not longer, to want to be with immediate family and focus on healing. We ask that you give us a bit longer before sending messages, texts, or phone calls.

He was a husband, father, brother, best friend to many, and a giant pain in the ass. He challenged those he loved and tried to help those in need. After retirement his health took a turn but that didn't stop him from offering to assist others. Even if he had to take the city bus from one end of the island to the other.

An Air Force Veteran, a Ford Master Mechanic, and City of Ketchikan rain drop dodger. We ask everyone to post stories, pictures, and videos here for everyone to share and reminisce.

I also want to say thank you to those that assisted my family on the 30th. I may have said thank you then and I'll say it again. You will never know how much your help meant to our family in our time of need. We were in a difficult position without options and you all stepped up and made a horrible situation a little easier on us.

Another way to help is to visit my parents store downtown at 410 Mission Street and make a purchase from WAC - Wicked Awesome Craftinators. This will help cover unexpected funeral costs. My dad spent his last days making sure the store was stocked up and helping other vendors. He enjoyed chatting with the tourists and other locals about the potholes, how much it was going to rain, and whether the power would go out two or three times that day.

To sign off I'll use one of my dad's favorite quotes from George Carlin: Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.

Solid advice.