Anthony Kyle Sanders, a senior majoring in agriculture engineering technology and business,  a loving and caring son, brother, nephew, cousin, uncle and friend, died Feb. 14.
Jessica Dickens, Sanders’s cousin, said he was like a brother to her. He was very compassionate and warm-hearted, and his nephew thought he hung the moon.
“He was a country boy for sure, through and through,” she said.
She said they grew up spending a lot of time together riding four-wheelers, fishing or playing in the pool.
“Even though he was younger than me, it was always like he was so good at everything,” she said. “He was always teaching me how to do stuff.”
Dickens said they not only played like brother and sister but also fought like them, too.
“At any given time, either of us would start aggravating the other, and before long, it would turn into an actual fight,” she said.
Dickens said she knew if anyone else had tried to mess with her, Sanders would have stood up for her.
“He was a best friend and brother to me,” she said. “I knew he and I would always have each other.”
Dickens also said she remembered Sanders being very tough. He would have scratches and cuts from walking barefoot everywhere during the summer. He was not afraid of anybody or anything.
“He would wade barefoot through snake infested waters, jump off the roof onto a trampoline and catch alligators from the pond and never batted an eye,” she said.
Dickens said anyone who knew Sanders noticed his dry and sarcastic sense of humor.
“When I was having a bad day, Kyle was who I wanted to be around because he would laugh you out of the bad mood or aggravate you until you started laughing,” she said.
Dickens said Sanders loved his family, especially his parents.
“He knew, no matter what, that they were always proud of him, and he never had to doubt they loved him,” she said.
Thomas Chipley, a friend of Sanders, said Sanders had a heart the size of Texas. He said his favorite memory was when Sanders returned to Leake Academy as a junior to play football, even though he had never played before.
“He was not scared of a single individual on that practice or game field,” he said.
Robbie Alford, a friend from high school, said he remembers trot lining and hunting with Sanders.
“Kyle loved to make people laugh and loved to have a good time,” he said.
Alford said Sanders was a great friend and they had a lot of good times.
“He will truly be missed and hold a place in my heart as one of my best friends,” he said.
Trevor Langston, another friend of Sanders, said Sanders was a friend who would always stand by his friends, even if a friend was wrong.
“He would have given you the shirt off his back to any one of his friends, but he would have been fussing doing it,” he said. “He liked to joke around with us all.”
He said they had fun everywhere, whether it was at football games, in the classroom, sitting around a camp fire or riding four-wheelers.
“There is not just one memory that stands out about Kyle that I can tell that will let you really understand who he was,” he said. “He was just an all-around good guy.”
Dickens said she is thankful for all the memories she has with him. She said she has learned life is a gift.
“You can’t be afraid to embrace it; you just have to wade through that snake infested water or do that backflip anyway, and never look back,” she said.