Our folks split up when I was in 6th grade; that made Tyler about a first grader.  Mom went to work full time so I became the evil older sister!  My job was to keep these four hellions under control.  What it actually meant was they did whatever they wanted and I threatened them with "telling Mom" to get them to do my chores, etc.  Everyone protected Mom; even as littles we knew how difficult her situation was.  Tyler more than anyone.  He heard from many that he was now "the man of the family" after Dad was gone. I know that expectation was difficult for him the older he got; but, even so, he took those sentiments very seriously and became the big, little brother we all counted on.  

As you can imagine, we weren't particularly close through our school years....reference evil older sister.  After college, I moved to Minnesota where I met my husband, Tom.  I think initially the lure of the Boundary Waters brought Ty to visit, which soon became a frequent journey. He loved getting to know our Minnesota relatives and friends and they too enjoyed their adventures with him. Ty and Tom became very close and we found ways to get back to Colorado more and more.  Oh, the fun we all had.

Our kids, Joe and Katie were born and we became even closer.  As you have read through these posts you know Ty loved kids.  They let him continue to be a kid and he loved teaching them new things and showing them new adventures.  As every kid who has experienced Ty's mentorship - that didn't come without a degree of pain!!   Who can forget his own rise and shine method for early morning snow skiing and water skiing events!

Soon, Ty and I found ourselves talking almost every day.  With a growing business, his exciting new family with Deb and her kids, my growing family, our jobs - there was always so much to talk about.  Those are such wonderful, exciting years for everyone - lives were fast paced with constant challenges and new adventures.  We shared them all; counseled each other, bragged to each other (I know, shocking) and enjoyed making each other laugh and just a little bit better with each conversation.  He was my best friend.  

I will forever miss his laugh, that amazing smile, the way he loved and supported my sisters and me, his friendship with my husband, his love for my kids, the way he brightened every event, the energy he put into pushing everyone to be better, his kindness for people when the chips were down.  So many ways I'll miss him.  But mostly I miss now, and will forever, knowing he is here on God's green earth with all of us.   

Our condolences to all who loved him.  Rest in peace and pain free, Ty.  

I met Tyler in the 7th grade, and we have been like brothers ever since. I am very grateful for our friendship and all the times enjoyed together over the years. We got a lot of living and playing done those first 6 years, the bond between us was made and we never lost it by staying caught up with each other over all these years. I’m very thankful for that. He mentioned often how surprised he was we were still alive after those “formidable” years. He matured into a good man, and in my opinion a force of nature! I used to call him the “goat” after he went to Outward Bound. He would hike a mountain like most people walk around the block. Strong in morals and values, while never letting go of the kid in him, and treating all people with respect, kindness and empathy. He always kept in mind where he came from. He gave everyone a good example of “going for it!”

We had many a good time at the annual “Get Together's” over the years with our friends. Lots of water skiing, camping, lots of laughs and community meals.

Then along came the wonderful Lady Deb. She did what I thought could not be done, and the “Confirmed Bachelor” was no more. He was so happy. She and the family were the focus of the rest of his life and he did most everything he could to make their lives full and secure with unconditional love, fun, laughs and support.

Considering where he came from to the accomplishments he made is nothing short of commendable. The only ones that had anything bad to say about Tyler were the ones that tried to take him for granted or advantage of him.

The man said I did a lot for him, but in actuality it was the opposite. He helped me a lot and was always there when I needed his brotherly support and advise.

I had the opportunity to go fishing with Tyler for four days at Lake Granby in mid-July. Lots of good times fishing and reminiscing. It reminded us both of the old days. Really going to treasure that. My brother is in no more pain. That is the only part of this that I am grateful for.

Kathy, Sharon and Patty…keep the good memories and stay strong with those closest to you.

Deb, my heart is with you and I know you have the loving support from the whole family and all your friends. Lean on them when needed, they will catch you with open arms.

Well guess this is goodbye for now…Rest in peace my “Brother from Another Mother”. I'll miss you till we meet again on that big slalom course in the sky!

Tyler and I met during high school in 1970. We hit it off immediately and started hanging out together pretty frequently. Our friendship was genuine and probably the most real friendship I had beside the Friend I have now in Jesus Christ.
Tyler and I were practically inseparable during high school and a few years after.  We hung out with Pat Austis, Kim Stanfield, Rick Barron, Dave Hoffman and Kevin Hoffman... many others !!  for many years.  It was a fun time in life and also very different life during the early 70's
When I introduced Tyler to Chuck Bristle my legal guardian in 1970 ...Chuck immediately liked Tyler and took him in and helped him get a job with me at the Coachlight Restaurant. Tyler bused tables and washed dishes while I cooked as a fry cook and a prep cook. We both worked hard and played hard during those years.
After the Coachlight we both went to work at the Tux Stop that was behind Al Cohens "Famous Mens Clothing" store on East Colfax. Ray was our boss and he was a great guy ... he sometimes would let us take his Firebird on deliveries at times.  Tyler met Tom at the dry cleaners business that we used for all our tuxedo cleaning. He soon started working for Tom at the same time we worked for Ray at the Tux Stop. Tom taught Tyler business matters that he learned to carry with him for the rest of his life. Tyler's work ethic and standards for working long and hard to get what he wanted in life came from Tom.  Tom told him that you had to put in hard work if you wanted to be successful.
Tyler and I spent a lot of time snow camping, cross country skiing and also summer camping. Tyler and I rented a house next to the East West runways when Stapleton Airport was still there. It was a dumpy little place, but we made it home and had a great time working, living, laughing and just having fun in life. It was a great friendship and like I said one of most real friendships I ever had.
When Tyler moved to the Mountains in 76...  He had bought a truck with a camper on it and lived near Frisco most the time in it. He worked as a labor, plumber and other trades. Tyler soon was given a job at Cooper Mountain doing most of the janitorial and maintenance work for a few of the buildings and in return he was also given a place to stay and paid also.  It was not long after that Tyler became a operation supervisor for the Solitude Station on top of Cooper. Whenever we came up to visit we would end up taking ski dos up the trail in the winter and in the summer we would jeep up the road to it.  Tyler always made us feel welcome and special whenever we went up to visit him.
Many years went by and as Tyler remained in the Silverthorne / Frisco area he made many friends and also developed into a great business man. 
I was always extremely proud of Tyler and we never really stopped staying in touch over the many years.
Tyler told me about Deborah and that this was the lady he was going to marry.  He was so happy and even just a few months ago when we talked and he stated that he was extremely happy that he married Deborah and that he had a growing family that he loved dearly.
Each one of the people that knew Tyler long ago probably remember many things about our times with him. All of them were wonderful and I know that Tyler will be thought of in those memories with love and happiness.
Thank you forallowing everyone to tell there stories on this website since most of us now live many miles away and cannot make it to the celebration.

To Deborah and the rest of Tyler's family, Susan and I just want you to know that we pray for your comfort during this time.
God Bless all of you and may Gods grace be with you !!

I met Tyler when he was in high school at the Raft Club. My brother Dave was already his friend and had invited me to come swimming. While we were there Tyler came rushing in. He had just finished a quick day hike and had to change to go to work. He was shouldering one of those old external-frame back packs and it did not have any food, water or extra clothing. It was full of encyclopedias! He said the short time he had for the hike wasn’t challenging enough for regular stuff so to get a good work out, he added the extra weight. This is how Tyler always approached life. He was going to get all the good he could out of everything.

We became good friends and over the next decade and our old gang would always meet at some lake for the three-day weekends in the summer. We spent a lot of time at Rifle Gap and Green Mountain Reservoir and during these weekends I introduced my future wife, Lynn, to Tyler. They hit it off well with so many common interests like water skiing, snow skiing, hiking and camping. Tyler was the driving force to make these meet-ups happen, no excuses.

Back to the water, Tyler and Gene both had boats and we would spend the daylight hours skiing and tubing and then partying well into the night--sometimes long enough to watch the sun come up. I remember one weekend when some “older folks” with big RVs were camped next to us. They were not happy with the carrying on and let us know about. Tyler, Pat and Kim crawled up by their camp site the next night and started shooting pop bottle rockets off the side of their RVs. Oh the trouble we could find.

Then Tyler introduced us to a Master Craft boat, great for slalom skiing. He taught us that braving the cold water at sunrise would be rewarded with a glass run, which we would line up for. No sleeping in for that guy! Tyler was always great with our boys Drew and Devon, teaching them to ski, wakeboard, tube and drive the boat.Drew was just a tot when Tyler had him on his lap and he just dropped the hammer!Full speed ahead!And of course, like Matt said, “make it happen captain” was the go phrase. Drew learned quickly you never say the words “bet you can’t knock me off the tube” to Tyler Myers.

Tyler and Deb also introduced our family to Lake Powell. They were gracious hosts and it was so much fun! We all have such great memories from these trips: camping on the water, skiing, tubing, wake boarding, fishing and just exploring the Lake. Lake Powell is big, awesome and beautiful.When our kids were young Lake Powell would always be their first choice for our summer vacation.

My stories of Tyler of course include lots of skiing. When he worked at Copper, we would sometimes meet in the parking lot and he would take us one at a time on a snowmobile to Solitude. It was so special to wake up and ski down to get your day pass. On one trip Tyler led us through a patrol shack so we could hike up to ski Union Bowl before Sierra lift was built. That was very challenging and something I would not have done on my own.Skiing at Copper with Tyler was always finding the best snow, especially in Enchanted Forest, Drain Pipe, Buzzards Alley and Spaulding Bowl. One day late in the season he took Lynn and I on a tree run and taught us about “gorilla turns”. It was always about expanding your horizons and having great experiences when skiing with Tyler.

Tyler was such a wonderful person and a great friend to me and my family. He will be missed forever but never forgotten.

"Make it happen Captain" were the words we had to say when we were ready in the water at Powell.  At the end of that statement Tyler would punch the throttle to one of his most beloved machines a Mastercraft prostar 190.  In an instant you feel the surge of power from boat wanting to tear the limbs from your sockets as you grip and push HARD on that front foot.  

You hear "HIPS UP!!! HIPS UP!!!" as you get into the required form on a slalom ski.  I'm all smiles as I have gotten up on one ski for the first time!!  How many of us have had this exact same experience with Tyler?  I hated it and loved it, all at the same time.  Tyler knew how to push me to do more than I knew I could.  He saw my inner strengths and weaknesses and pushed and pushed until I broke those barriers. 

This was never easy for me and I had many choice words under my breath for and at Tyler, but he was always fair with compensation and looking back at it he was probably more than fair.  In everything I did I wanted to excel not only for myself, but to be able to tell Tyler how much I had accomplished.  He would always say great, but he knew I could do more or do better so I would study more and work harder.  My work ethic has a lot to do with Tyler and I appreciate it!

You were a great role model and someone I could count on when needed.  Thank you Tyler and I love you and miss you terribly.  I wish Corbin would have had the same chance as I did to learn to snow and water ski.  When the time comes I will proudly wear that hat and have my children yell the same "make it happen Captain."

With love and tears
Matt