Married couple finds surprise connection to each other at Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum
Jen and Tanner Blair have been married for more than 10 years
By Jason Burger
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OKLAHOMA CITY (KOCO) — The bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was one of the darkest days in Oklahoma history, but its aftermath connected people across the state.
Oklahomans, who were students at the time, still remember where they were and what they were doing at the time of the blast nearly 30 years ago. Some of them are now married.
Jen and Tanner Blair have been married for more than 10 years, but it wasn’t until after their wedding that they realized they had a mutual connection at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.
Despite being miles away from the blast, both Jen and Tanner remembered hearing the bomb go off while they were in class at Oklahoma City Public Schools.
That year, they both painted tiles that are now on display at the National Memorial and Museum.
“I signed my tile with my full name. It said “Jennifer Riekard,” Jen said.
Jen attended Wiley Post Elementary School in 1995. Tanner went to Kaiser Elementary.
“It was maybe 2008 or so when a friend of ours, who was at OU, wanted to go downtown and tour the memorial,” Jen said.
The couple didn’t realize the tiles they painted were on display until a mutual friend spotted Jen’s tile.
“I went to go see it with Tanner, and then we’re looking at the wall, and that’s the moment where I looked and saw that one is signed ‘Tan.’ Is that your handwriting?” Jen asked.
“Yup,” Tanner replied.
The couple now lives in Texas, but they said they have run the OKC Memorial Marathon in the past, and the city will forever be a part of their lives.
Tanner said the fact that they both have tiles at the memorial is more than a coincidence.
“It’s definitely bizarre. It feels like a little kismet, like the universe is trying to tell you something, for sure,” Tanner said.
The couple now has a 2-year-old, and they said they want all of this to be a part of his life when he’s old enough.
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