Tammy Lanett Hayes

Tammy Lanett Hayes was known within her family and community for a warm smile and an outgoing spirit that friends and relatives recalled again and again after her death on February 26, 2022. She lived in Wilmington, North Carolina, and was 45 years old at the time she died.

Family members described Tammy as “the life of the party,” someone who loved to laugh, spend time with loved ones, and share simple moments like getting lunch and shopping with her sister. Those memories — ordinary, treasured interactions — are the clearest public record of who she was to those closest to her. Her oldest daughter, Latifah Canty, and other family members spoke publicly about Tammy’s central place in their lives when they gathered to grieve and call for an end to the cycle of violence that has touched their family more than once.

Tammy’s loss reopened long-standing wounds for a family that had already mourned other members to gun violence. In media interviews, relatives recalled her affection and the everyday acts that defined her relationships: being present for family, sharing laughter, and enjoying time together. Those recollections show a person whose importance to others came through small, human moments rather than public accomplishments, and they underline the gap her passing left in the lives of her children, siblings, and friends.

Public records and local reporting confirm the basic facts about Tammy’s passing and the impact it had on her family and community, though a formal funeral-home obituary matching her name and the exact date was not located in the public record. What remains clear from reliable local reporting is that Tammy was a beloved member of a close-knit family; her memory lives on in the stories her loved ones tell about her smile, her caring ways, and the everyday warmth she brought to those around her.

Those who wish to honor Tammy can hold to the simple remembrances her family shared publicly: that she loved her family deeply, enjoyed life’s small pleasures, and will be remembered for the light she brought into ordinary moments.