Posted on 07/26/2004 6:10:15 PM PDT by TheBigB
U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt's youngest son, Luke, was found dead Saturday morning in the family's Fairfax, Va., home.
Tiahrt's spokesman Chuck Knapp said 16-year-old Luke apparently committed suicide.
Officers were called to the Tiahrt house around 4:30 a.m. No foul play is suspected, said Fairfax County Police spokeswoman Mary Mulrenan.
A medical examiner will perform an autopsy to determine the cause of death, Mulrenan said.
Luke Tiahrt would have been a junior in high school this fall. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Todd Tiahrt is a Republican from Goddard who represents the 4th District in Congress.
The Tiahrt family is asking for privacy and prayers.
Condolences can be sent by e-mail to Tiahrtcondolences@mail.house.gov or by regular mail to the congressman's Wichita office, 155 North Market, Suite 400, Wichita, Kan., 67202.
Truth, I hope you don't mind my posting this. I read what you put in that other thread and thought it was worth wider distribution. The Tiahrt family needs our love and support now.
Prayers on the way for his soul and his friends and family.
Ping
How completely sad. Suicide: a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
Tiahart's grandparents were from my hometown in South Dakota. Prayers and condolances for his family.
Prayers for the family and for everyone who knew and loved the young man. What a terrible tragedy.
My prayers are with the family.
It is possible that it was NOT suicide but an accidental death from "auto-erotic asphysiation." Reports are that the boy hung hinself. no further information has been given. If this was the cause, I hope the Tiharts can find the courage to warn other families of this dangerous practice.
Luke's death was definitely NOT auto-erotic anything. Luke had experienced the same chain of events that most guys his age go through and for some reason, thought it was the end of the world. I've seen these boys grow up in the lime light of politics. They sacrifice time after time as their father sacrifices for WE the people of the State of Kansas. Luke was a casuality of war. He lost the chance at a "normal" childhood the same as a child who looses a parent in war. Many of us take sides against candidates to the point of actually hateing their existance but too few are the times we see the sacrifices they are forced to make at their families expenses. It wasn't an erotic fantasy of Luke's that killed him. He was a casuality of the war to keep Kansas from falling into destruction. Todd marched into a war when he went into politics. Whether his ideals are right or wrong he took his sword and shield and marched ahead onto the front line. He gained HIS purple heart through the fatal wounding of his youngest son. Luke will forever be remembered and loved.
I didn't mean the question as an insult. Either way, it is still very tragic
I'm sorry. I over reacted. It's so hard to come to grips with something like this when you have so little to go on. I held Luke at the hospital when he was born. I watched him grow up and was so proud of him. To be honest, all of us who knew him are looking for a reason to pin it on; some reason to make our consciences eased from not giving him enough hugs or telling him just how much he meant to us, or even that we loved him. It probably wouldn't have made any difference to him but then again, it might. If anyone knows how an adult can adequately tell a teenage boy how much he is loved to the point that he genuinely understands, please respond. Zig Ziglar said that by the age of 12, American boys have received at least 90% less hugs and kisses than American girls. We stand by. We don't say what's on our hearts because of how it might be perceived. We keep burying those who feel they are unloved. We shouldn't pity Luke any less than we pity ourselves. Go find a teenage boy and let him know hes of value to your life. Take a risk, throw in a hug to boot..... Believe me, it's better than taking flowers to a grave.
I am so sorry for your loss, Courier. Prayers to the Tiahrt family as well.
Sometimes there just aren't answers, as hard as that is to accept. After more loss than I care to think about in the past seven years -- to include both parents, other family members and too many good friends -- I wish I had the answers. And I am only 37 years old but loss seems to be part of my world at the moment! Only thing that has gotten me through is faith.
As for raising boys, I have two beautiful sons and I faithfully try to follow Dr. Dobson's advice in his books, particularly on raising boys.
Perhaps, in a way, the loss I have experienced has brought me to a very important truth -- that there is nothing, absolutely nothing more important than being a wife and mother. It won't say on my tombstone that I wrote really great press releases. It will say, Wife and Mother. And my legacy is those two precious boys. Indeed, they are the legacy for their entire ancestry.
So whenever things start to encroach upon my world a bit too much, I stop and play with the boys. Nothing quite put things into perspective like playing with toddlers.
I'm nearly crying as I type this. NOTHING can be so bad that a 16 year old should take his life.
As others have said, sometimes there are no explanations, preventions, or cures.
I think back to being 16 as pretty much about the most wonderful time of my life. Free of (serious) responsibility, chasing girls, driving my Jeep around town like I owned it, etc.
Some kids want to be grown-ups. Take it from a "grown-up", kids - more adults want to be kids again. I'd go back in a heart beat.
Live your life, go to football games (and the parties that ensue afterwards), pine after cheerleaders, learn about the world.
YOUR'S is the life, trust me. Don't ever, EVER give it up so willingly. No problem is so big that it can't be solved.
Prayers coming for this devastated family. I cannot imagine their pain. As for your own feelings of guilt, let it go. There was nothing you could have done and I'm sure this young man would be the first to tell you that.
Something for you all to consider that hasn't been addressed here yet. Imagine a conservative, anti-gay senator's son having to deal with his own sexuality, especially if he were, as Luke was described, "sensitive, artistic...". Might Luke have been trying to come to terms with his own homosexual feelings, perhaps?
Could anyone even begin to imagine how that subject would have been dealt with by his parents? Teenage suicide is still often seen as an option to those who are unable to come to terms with their sexual identity. Faced with being an embarassment to his own father, it wouldn't be too difficult to envision Luke seeing suicide as a solution, would it?
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