Tanya Lynn Ehlers, woman of strong faith
Tanya Lynn (Davis) Ehlers, wife of Dr. Andrew Ehlers, pastor of High Tide Church, went to be with the Lord Friday, Jan. 20, 2023. She battled stage 4 colon cancer for the last 38 months. Tanya was born Dec. 7, 1972.
Tanya served with her husband to help plan High Tide Church in Dagsboro, where she served as the children’s minister of the church for the past 20 years. She developed a children’s program called G-Force that helped the church to reach hundreds of families and to grow from a half dozen members to several hundred. She was born in Charleston, S.C., but lived in Ocean City and Berlin, Md., until she graduated in 1991 from Stephen Decatur High School in Berlin. She graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in education from Carson Newman College in Jefferson City, Tenn. From there she earned her master of divinity in Christian education from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C.
Tanya lost her first husband, Raymond Worsham, to a brain tumor that took his life after only two and a half years of marriage. They had been students together at Carson Newman College and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Tanya and Ray served as missionaries to inner-city Raleigh, N.C., while they were students at the seminary.
After Ray’s death, Tanya returned to seminary and inner-city Raleigh to continue their ministry with the help of her younger brother, Sean Davis. It was here that she met her husband, Andy Ehlers, who was also a student at the seminary. They were married in 2001 and have been serving the Lord together ever since. Tanya has touched so many lives through her love and faith in Jesus. Throughout her ordeal with cancer, she and Andy have faithfully sent out updates on her battle through social media, sharing her faith and confidence in Christ, thereby touching thousands of people across the globe.
Tanya is survived by her and Andy’s four amazing children, Raychel, who is a sophomore at Coastal Carolina University, Camryn, a senior at Indian River High School, Leilani, a sophomore at Indian River High School, and Andrew, a seventh-grader at Selbyville Middle School. These beautiful children have been among Tanya’s greatest blessings.
Tanya is also survived by her parents, retired Pastor Terry and Lynn Davis of Berlin, Md.; her brother, Daniel Davis, his wife Emily, and their two children, Graham and Madeleine from Knoxville, Tenn., where they serve as youth ministers at Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church; and her brother, Sean Davis, his wife Anna, and their three children, Charlotte, Gwyneth and Josephine of Ocean City, Md., where he serves as senior pastor of Ocean City Baptist Church.
A funeral service to celebrate Tanya’s life will be held at noon, Friday, Jan. 27, at Crossroad Community Church, 20684 State Forest Road., Georgetown, where friends and family may gather after 10 a.m. Interment will be held in Dagsboro.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to High Tide Church Building Fund, P.O. Box 127, Dagsboro, DE 19939, hightidechurch.org.
Online condolences may be sent by visiting melsonfuneralservices.com.
