Tanner Martin has reached his final resting place.

A week after he announced his own death in a video posted to his and wife Shay Martin’s joint Instagram account following a years-long cancer battle, the influencer’s loved ones paid tribute at his funeral.

“It is an honor and pleasure to be his dad—and it still is,” Tanner’s father Thomas said in a eulogy delivered during the July 5 ceremony. “He was always just generally happy. He wanted to be everyone’s friend, and he assumed, at least when he was young, that most everyone wanted to be his friend. He was just always switched on to be happy and friendly.”

His father went on to share a glimpse into how the 30-year-old spent some of his final moments.

“During Tanner’s last week, his brother [Spencer] and I watched with him the original Star Wars trilogy,” he continued. “We watched the trilogy and the Raiders of the Lost Ark trilogy and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.”

In fact, the influencer—who received his colon cancer diagnosis in 2020—was such a fan of fantasy films that his wife decided to give his funeral a special theme.

“All who attend the funeral are invited to wear something Star Wars in honor of Tanner,” Shay wrote on Instagram June 29 alongside the funeral details. “Tanner also requested for Star Wars stickers to be placed on his casket.”

Tanner’s emotional funeral came days after he announced his own death on social media, just once month after he and Shay welcomed their daughter AmyLou, affectionately known as Jiaozi.

“Hey, it’s me Tanner, if you’re watching this, I am dead,” he said in a June 25 Instagram video. “I had a heck of a life. I decided to make this video announcing my death, cause I saw someone did that like a year or so ago, and I think it’s a good opportunity to get all your thoughts out and also you can be thoughtful about what your spouse or your partner may need.”

Along with giving his wife “some time to grieve,” the TikToker wanted to make the video himself to personally thank his followers for their support amid his cancer battle.

“Thank you for all that you did for me while I was here,” he continued. “And all the support and love that you showed me and my little family. I would ask at this time if you could continue to offer prayers and stuff for my sweetheart Shay and my baby girl Jiaozi."

For more influencers who have announced their own deaths, keep reading.

After a five-year battle with colon cancer, influencer Tanner Martin—who documented his terminal disease and life with wife Shay Martin and daughter AmyLou online—personally announced his own death. 

“Hey, it’s me, Tanner,” Tanner said in a posthumous video shared to Instagram in June 2025. “If you’re watching this right now, I’m dead.”

Tanner, who was 30 at the time of his death, said he wanted to make a video announcing his death because he had seen another user do it and though it was “a good opportunity” to get his thoughts out and call attention to his wife and daughter, whom he affectionately referred to as “Jiaozi.” 

 “Everyone, I had a heck of a life,” he continued in his video. “You guys seriously thank you for all that you do for me for the time I was here and all the support and love you showed me and my little family. I would ask at this time if you could continue to offer prayers and stuff for my sweetheart Shay and my baby girl Jiaozi.”

 The influencer expressed gratitude for his audience, noting that his final request was simply to remember his family in thoughts and prayers. 

 “Life was awesome,” Tanner concluded. “I really enjoyed it while I was here. Hopefully I believe there’s something after this and hopefully we’re hanging out now. There’s just a lot of people in the afterlife that I’m excited to see them not in pain and just happy.”

In October 2024, TikToker Bella Bradford shared that she had died after a battle with a rare form of cancer in her jaw muscle. She was 24. 

“I have terminal cancer and unfortunately, by now, my life has come to an end, and I’ve passed away,” Bella said in her video. “But I wanted to do one final ‘Get Ready With Me’ because I love doing these, and I love fashion. Thank you for following me on this fun journey, and yeah, I hope you will be back on all my videos and find a little bit of joy in your day if you ever needed to feel.”

And despite the heartbreaking circumstances, Bella left followers with a hopeful note. 

“Remember that you live every day and you only die once,” she explained, “so everything helps.”

The Australian TV host announced her own death in an Instagram post shared in October 2024 after a three-year battle with motor neuron disease—a neurodegenerative condition similar to ALS. 

“Farewell my friends,” Fiona wrote in a post shared to her Instagram account, alongside photos of her and her sons Harry and Rafe. “My sister Kylie is posting this because I have left the building. Hopefully I’m looking down from a cloud.” 

And the 67-year-old did not hide the debilitating effect her disease had on the end of her life. 

“Last night brought an end to a very tough few months,” she admitted. “While I’ve never wanted to die, the thought of leaving my tortured body was a relief.”

She concluded, "So let’s not call it goodbye as I hope to see you again on the other side—I carry your love and laughter with me and hope you’ll remember mine.”

Canadian influencer Kimberley Nix announced her death in May 2024 after documenting her battle with metastatic sarcoma online for three years. 

“Hello followers,” Kimberley said in a TikTok video. “If you’re seeing this message, I have passed away peacefully.”

The 31-year-old influencer—who was a resident trained in internal medicine—explained that she had a “beautiful life” and shared a list of her favorite things, including her pets, her makeup collection and her husband Michael MacIsaac. 

And Kimberley—who used her platform to educate followers on her condition after her 2021 diagnosis—also expressed gratitude for her online community. 

“I love you all, thank you so much for this amazing opportunity,” she said. “I’m in happy tears because you’ve all made me find so much purpose in the end of my life.”

Daniella Thackray, who detailed her battle with cholangiocarcinoma—a rare and aggressive form of cancer that grows in the bile ducts of one’s liver—wrote a personal note on Facebook to announce her own death in February 2024. 

“If you’re reading this then it means I have died from my battle with cancer and my family are posting my final message on my behalf,” Danielle, who hailed from Leeds, United Kingdom, wrote at the time. “Although we can’t control what happens to us, we can control how we react. I chose not to mourn the life I was losing despite being so devastated, but to instead enjoy every moment I had left.”

The 24-year-old admitted that she hoped more research would be done surrounding her cancer—which has no obvious causes or cureat this time—but emphasized that she lived her short life to the fullest. 

“As I have always said and believed you should enjoy the little things in life and cherish every moment!” Daniella wrote in her farewell. “Romanticise your life! Do whatever makes you happy and don’t let anyone take the joy of life away from you x.”

And her final word was to her fiancé Tom Calvert, to whom Daniella wrote, “I love you and always will. Go enjoy your life now, you deserve it.”

Paul Harrell, who hadover 1 million YouTube subscribers for his reviews of firearms, shared a YouTube video in September 2024 titled “I’m Dead” following his death from pancreatic cancer.

“Hi everyone,” Paul said in the video, which he said he recorded in December 2023. “If you’re watching me, I’m dead.”

Paul noted in his video that while he thought he had caught his cancer early, it began to spread rapidly to his bones, and it became apparent to him that his time “is drawing very short.”

“To everyone who has watched, hit the like or dislike icon, commented, shared, subscribed and donated on Patreon,” Paul continued, “Thank you.”

As he put it, “I can’t even begin to articulate how beneficial and appreciated those things are.”

The 58-year-old also went on to apologize to his fanbase for his unexpected departure from the world. 

“I had hoped that I would continue in this format for the next 10 or even 15 years,” he admitted, noting that his diagnosis took his life in just a few short months. “My apologies for that, it really feels like I’ve let everybody down.”

For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App