René Tankersley

René Tankersley, 42, feature editor at Land Line and a tireless advocate for American truckers, died Wednesday, June 9, after her car was involved in a traffic accident.

Tankersley was the winner of several national awards for her work at Land Line, including the magazine’s first national gold medal in the International Automotive Media Awards, where her work bested the likes of Motor Trend Magazine and Car and Driver.

Her winning story about trucker John Kendrix helped expose a sloppy investigation of a heavily publicized wreck involving the OOIDA member, who was falsely accused of using drugs and alcohol by investigators.

She won a second gold medal from the Association of Automotive Publication Editors for her March 2003 story on trucker Daryl McCartor and his wife, Margo Freshwater. That piece won best single news article in the national contest.

But perhaps most important was her dogged work on behalf of truck drivers. Tankersley was known for her investigative pieces on consumer issues, going to bat for truckers who had been the victims of scams or unscrupulous businesses. She would often spend hours on the phone tracking down details or on the Internet researching an issue. In some cases, her stories led to official investigations.

Tankersley kept as busy in her off time as she did at work. She had been a member of the board of directors of the Truck Writers of North America. With her husband, Ed, she was also active in the Oak Grove Seventh-day Adventist Church, where he was an elder and she held numerous positions, including serving on the church board. A mother of two and grandmother, she single-handedly ran a prison ministry, counseling more than 100 inmates in various facilities and helping them with Bible studies through the mail.

A native Californian, Tankersley spent most of her life in Arkansas. She formerly worked for The Trucker, a trucking newspaper based in Little Rock, and had also worked for the Belle Vista, AR, Weekly Vista, and The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. She held a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Arkansas.

The accident occurred about 9 a.m. as Tankersley was on her way from her home in Buckner, MO, to work in Grain Valley. The accident site was about five miles south of her home. A state trooper on the scene said he could not release details of the accident pending an investigation.

--by the Land Line staff

To see Rene Tankersley's obituary, which contains information on her memorial service and where to send donations in her name, please click here.