POLK COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) – An East Tennessee woman has shared the tragedy and grief she is facing after her husband died tragically in a workplace accident.

Hope Taylor’s husband, Adam, went to work Monday at Frerichs Sawmill in Monroe County where he was killed when a concrete barrier collapsed. On Friday, Taylor spent time with friends digging her husband’s grave.

“Perfect, loving, caring, a heart of gold,” she said when asked to describe her husband. “He never met a stranger.”

Taylor said her husband spent most of his free time in his workshop building everything from birdhouses to benches with their son, Hunter.

“From the time he came home from work, Hunter would ask him, ‘We got work to do?’ They would come to the shop and they work until 8 or 9 o’clock at night building birdhouses, building benches, riding side by sides, and pulling trailers,” she said. “It was just always, Daddy, Adam, Daddy, Adam.”

Taylor said he worked at the sawmill on and off for the past 20 years. She picked up a few shifts there recently but quit about a week ago to take care of their family.

“You could tell the wall was going to fall at any time,” she said. “Everybody that comes in there knew it was a safety hazard.”

She said Adam told the owners several times the wall needed to be fixed. Now an investigation is taking place to determine what exactly happened.

“I don’t want to see somebody else get killed,” Taylor said through tears. “I don’t want to see some of the young kids that work over there hurt because of lack of safety.”

She is now preparing for Adam’s funeral with family and friends. They plan to bury him on their family property so she can visit him every day. 

“Never take anything for granted because you’re not promised tomorrow,” she said.

Frerichs Sawmill did not respond to a request for comment before the airing of this story.

Taylor’s funeral will be Wednesday, May 17 with visitation starting at noon at Akins Funeral Home in Copperhill.