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| RIP GregTyler 1960 - 2006 |
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Stars and Stripes
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa - Gregory C. Tyler, a reporter and photographer
for Stars and Stripes since June 1999, died Sunday morning in a Japanese
hospital in Sasebo, Japan.
His death came three days after collapsing from a heart attack Thursday
on Sasebo Naval Base. He is survived by his wife, Shirley, and son,
James,14. A memorial is tentatively set for 11 a.m. Friday in the base
chapel.
Tyler, 46, was a native of Macon, Georgia. He was a graduate of Macon
Junior College and Coastal Carolina College. Prior to coming to Stripes
he was the Internet content manager for the Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle.
Prior to that he was city editor for the Florence (S.C.) Morning News
and the Aiken (S.C.) Standard.
When he wasn’t running the Sasebo News Bureau for Stars and Stripes
or on the road covering Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni near Hiroshima, he
wrote poetry and short stories.
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa - Gregory C. Tyler, a reporter and photographer
for Stars and Stripes since June 1999, died Sunday morning in a Japanese
hospital in Sasebo, Japan.
His death came three days after collapsing from a heart attack Thursday
on Sasebo Naval Base. He is survived by his wife, Shirley, and son,
James,14. A memorial is tentatively set for 11 a.m. Friday in the base
chapel.
Tyler, 46, was a native of Macon, Georgia. He was a graduate of Macon
Junior College and Coastal Carolina College. Prior to coming to Stripes
he was the Internet content manager for the Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle.
Prior to that he was city editor for the Florence (S.C.) Morning News
and the Aiken (S.C.) Standard.
When he wasn’t running the Sasebo News Bureau for Stars and Stripes
or on the road covering Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni near Hiroshima, he
wrote poetry and short stories.
Earlier this year he branched out and started his own online magazine,
The Quill and the Cross (www.quill-n-cross.com), in which he shared his
passion for writing with his deep sense of Christian-based spirituality.
It was that sense of being at peace with himself and what comes after
death that carried him through his last days, while doctors struggled to
treat a blocked artery that was too far gone for open heart surgery.
“I was with him until the very end and even though it was so difficult
to say goodbye, he said he was hearing music and I know he’s with our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” his wife wrote to a friend.
“Greg’s death is a blow to Stripes, and we know he will be missed by the
people he worked with at Sasebo and Iwakuni as well,” said Thomas P.
Skeen, Pacific Assistant Managing Editor for Stars and Stripes.
“He was a big man with an enormous compassion and respect for the
sailors, Marines and civilians he covered for more than six years at the
two bases. And he dearly loved writing and telling their stories. I
think it’s only fitting that the last story he wrote for Stripes was
about a sailor who wrote poetry.”
“Tyler was a well-liked member of the staff who was concerned about his
co-workers,” said Korea bureau chief T.D. Flack.
“Greg was always the first person to send a note of congratulations or
condolences,” Flack said. “He took the time to let his co-workers know
that he cared about them and their personal lives.”
Dave Ornauer, Stripes’ longtime sports photojournalist, was on hand to
greet Tyler when he first arrived at Stars and Stripes and worked with
him on several feature stories.
“From the very first, Greg struck me as a very friendly, personable
guy,” Ornauer said. “And through all his years, Greg always remained a
punctual, responsible and ever-helpful presence, no matter the story, no
matter the time pressure. It didn’t hurt that he was an Atlanta Braves
fan, either.”
Personnel at Sasebo said Tyler’s passing leaves a noticeable gap in the
community.
“He was not only known for his professional work but also the work he
and his wife have done for the chapel,” said Navy Cmdr. Harvey Ranard,
command chaplain for Sasebo Naval Base. “He’s certainly leaving a hole
here.
He said Tyler was well-known and admired at the base, and as word spread
of his death people expressed their shock.
Michael Seitz, a teacher for nearly 10 years at E.J. King High School at
Sasebo praised Tyler’s reporting and involvement with the Sasebo
community.
“He was good for our school,” said Seitz. “He always seemed to promote
our school by getting stories about the King school complex on the front
page. He is missed already.”
One of the last things Tyler wrote for his Web magazine was a short
story he penned just before Easter. It was a memory he had of his
father, who died of a heart attack in December 1968 at the age of 42,
when Tyler was 9.
At the top of the story Tyler included a passage from the Bible, James
4:14.
“For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little
time, and then vanishes away.”
April 30, 2006
The Quill and the Cross (www.quill-n-cross.com), in which he shared his
passion for writing with his deep sense of Christian-based spirituality.
It was that sense of being at peace with himself and what comes after
death that carried him through his last days, while doctors struggled to
treat a blocked artery that was too far gone for open heart surgery.
“I was with him until the very end and even though it was so difficult
to say goodbye, he said he was hearing music and I know he’s with our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” his wife wrote to a friend.
“Greg’s death is a blow to Stripes, and we know he will be missed by the
people he worked with at Sasebo and Iwakuni as well,” said Thomas P.
Skeen, Pacific Assistant Managing Editor for Stars and Stripes.
“He was a big man with an enormous compassion and respect for the
sailors, Marines and civilians he covered for more than six years at the
two bases. And he dearly loved writing and telling their stories. I
think it’s only fitting that the last story he wrote for Stripes was
about a sailor who wrote poetry.”
“Tyler was a well-liked member of the staff who was concerned about his
co-workers,” said Korea bureau chief T.D. Flack.
“Greg was always the first person to send a note of congratulations or
condolences,” Flack said. “He took the time to let his co-workers know
that he cared about them and their personal lives.”
Dave Ornauer, Stripes’ longtime sports photojournalist, was on hand to
greet Tyler when he first arrived at Stars and Stripes and worked with
him on several feature stories.
“From the very first, Greg struck me as a very friendly, personable
guy,” Ornauer said. “And through all his years, Greg always remained a
punctual, responsible and ever-helpful presence, no matter the story, no
matter the time pressure. It didn’t hurt that he was an Atlanta Braves
fan, either.”
Personnel at Sasebo said Tyler’s passing leaves a noticeable gap in the
community.
“He was not only known for his professional work but also the work he
and his wife have done for the chapel,” said Navy Cmdr. Harvey Ranard,
command chaplain for Sasebo Naval Base. “He’s certainly leaving a hole
here.
He said Tyler was well-known and admired at the base, and as word spread
of his death people expressed their shock.
Michael Seitz, a teacher for nearly 10 years at E.J. King High School at
Sasebo praised Tyler’s reporting and involvement with the Sasebo
community.
“He was good for our school,” said Seitz. “He always seemed to promote
our school by getting stories about the King school complex on the front
page. He is missed already.”
One of the last things Tyler wrote for his Web magazine was a short
story he penned just before Easter. It was a memory he had of his
father, who died of a heart attack in December 1968 at the age of 42,
when Tyler was 9.
At the top of the story Tyler included a passage from the Bible, James
4:14.
“For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little
time, and then vanishes away.”
April 30, 2006
| A WORD FROM EWC EDITOR DAVID ALLEN |
| Since I wrote the obit you see here for our newspaper, I did not feel it was appropriate to quote myself. So, in print there was nothing from me for my friend. But that's not to say I did not care. Here is what I sent to the staff of Stars & Stripes: It's a sad day. I don't know how many of you ever got to know Greg, but he was a great guy and a good friend. We shared a love of reporting and poetry and he was the webmaster of our poetry magazine, www.eatwritecafe.com. He loved doing that so much he started his own online magazine not so long ago, The Quill and the Cross -- http://www.quill-n-cross.com. Although we did not share the same religious beliefs, we had an incredible ongoing discussion about the meaning of life -- and death -- and what happens next. He was a spiritual being, as you can tell from his website, so I am sure he's at peace wherever he is. His wife, Shirley, shared this with me just a short while ago: "Greg just died this morning. The community has really rallied behind us and we will miss him so much. I was with him until the very end and, even though it was so difficult to say goodbye, he said he was hearing music and I know he's with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." Here's to Greg : -30- |
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| This place will never be the same. Our webmaestro died April 30 after suffering from a heart attack. The obit his fellow EWC editor and admirer wrote is at the bottom of this page. We weep. |