Utah lost a magnificent civic leader, role model, philanthropist and matriarch last week when Carolyn Tanner Irish passed away. I won’t claim to have known Carolyn as well as many others, but I did admire her well. Her ministry of Utah’s Episcopal Diocese, leadership of the O.C. Tanner Company, engagement as a civic leader, and promoter of all things just, merciful, and kind inspired me.
Oh, and the arts … Carolyn loved the arts. She made sure her fellow Utahns benefitted from the state’s impressive artistic offerings and in the process supported the livelihoods of creative hearts and minds throughout Utah. Her love and support of the arts and humanities has shaped many souls for the better.
I serve on the O.C. Tanner Board of Directors and will always remember a private conversation she and I had about a large painting in a conference room at the O.C. Tanner headquarters. Her face beamed as she told me about her love for Utah’s landscapes and how the large painting captured Utah’s moving and expansive red rock country with such mastery. She told me how pleased she was with how the painting made a positive impression upon all who looked at it.
So, it is with this remarkable woman. She too left a powerful imprint on all who interacted with her. She not only left everything she touched better than she found it, but she also made sure her contributions would continue to touch and inspire us long after the end of her mortal journey.
Thank you, Carolyn and the entire O.C. Tanner family, for blessing our lives and giving us so many precious gifts.
Natalie Gochnour, Murray