Local soldier who passed away was ‘caring’ and ‘dependable.’ Parents pay tribute ahead of funeral Saturday
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CHUBBUCK — Two local parents are reflecting on the life their son lived this Easter weekend.
On March 12, Talon Haskett, a 24-year-old combat engineer in the army and former football player for Pocatello High School, passed away due to cardiac arrest. He was on active duty in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
His family, friends and members of the public are gathering for a funeral Saturday to honor his memory.
“I just love him with all my heart. I’m gonna miss him every day,” said his mother, Jennifer Haskett.
“We know we’ll see him again,” said his father, Thomas Haskett.
Talon’s death came at a time when he was preparing to return to college and finish his degree, which he had started at the University of Idaho. Thomas was only a couple days out from leaving to pick him up.
“Everything was lining up,” Thomas said.
Talon was well-known in the community for his time as a football player, but his father and mother knew him best as a boy and then as a man who was strong and dependable.
He was born on August in the early evening. Jennifer said that only three weeks into life, Talon was lifting his head up and looking around the room at his parents and older sister.
“He just wanted to look around and he was very loving. He was a very loving baby. He smiled and he loved to hug,” Jennifer said.
As Talon grew up, he formed a special connection with his mother and her parents. In a Mother’s Day talk during church, “he said ‘my mother and I have a special bond and I could tell her anything about my life.’ That’s kind of how it was. He told me everything,” Jennifer said.
During high school, when Talon would finish weight class and other early morning classes, he would go his maternal grandparents’ home.
“He would go up there for breakfast because she they had the fresh eggs from the hens and he would love my mom’s scrambled eggs,” Jennifer said.
He also spent time at their house working for his grandfather “just to help and be around him,” Thomas said.
At football games, Talon was never embarrassed to greet his grandparents.
“He was always going over and hugging them and he would kiss them goodbye,” Jennifer said.
When Talon was six, Thomas started to coach Talon at soccer, which let his competitive spirit thrive. Later on when he was in fourth grade, he started playing youth football as well.
As Talon grew up, he excelled at football, playing on his high school. By his senior year, he was the team captain and defensive player of the year.
“He was just one of those players you could always depend on in football and he loved it,” Thomas said.
That dependability extended beyond football to his personal and student life. He graduated high school with a 4.0 GPA and volunteered his time to student government.
“He was so good and he cared. He cared about his grades. He cared about school. And he loved his teachers and his smile was so great,” Jennifer said.
He was also someone who had compassion for his peers. There were a couple of occasions during high school when a girl’s date had cancelled at the last minute, and he went to the dance in their place.
Football was a talent that would take him to the University of Idaho as a preferred walk-on. He attended three semesters at the school and played football during that time, but he felt a calling to join the armed forces.
Thomas’ father had been in the military and served in Vietnam, and Talon looked up to that.
“And that kind of brought him into the military,” Thomas said.
Talon had received a full-ride ROTC scholarship to attend college, but he started to think “Do I really want to be an officer?” Thomas said.
He decided that it was time for him to enlist and he joined the army. While Jennifer didn’t want him to, she knew that was what he wanted so she supported him.
“I tried not to influence him either way, but it was hard. I just was worried about him a lot,” Jennifer said.
Talon eventually became a combat engineer, and received his airborne jump certification. As a combat engineer, his job was “route clearance” for the infantry.
“They’re the ones that are setting explosives to blow open barriers or to explode portions of minefields,” Thomas explained.
Similarly to how Talon enjoyed being part of a brotherhood, he found a place in the army where he belonged.
“He was such a hard worker and someone that could be trusted that he frequently was asked to do extra duties, the kind of duties that sometimes you’d have difficulties getting some people to do. But they knew Talon could take care of it,” Thomas said.
The last time Jennifer got to see Talon was in October for 11 days after he got his tonsils removed. Jennifer had a feeling he wanted somebody there with him.
They got an Airbnb and spent that time watching shows.
“He couldn’t talk a lot but it was just really special to be there with him and I’m so glad I went,” Jennifer said.
After Talon had passed, his body was escorted by a police motorcade from Salt Lake City to Pocatello.
“Having Utah, Idaho and Chubbuck police all be involved was an honor,” Thomas said.
Thomas and Jennifer both thanked the community for the support they had shown to them through this time. Yellow ribbons were tied to trees and other posts throughout the neighborhood to honor Talon.
Talon’s funeral will be held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints church at 4890 Whitaker Road in Chubbuck. There will first be a viewing from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and then the service will begin at 1 p.m. He will be buried at the Mountain View Cemetery.
