Thomas R. Tyler, 86, died Nov 28th at L&M Hospital in New London following a lengthy illness. He was born July 4th 1932 to a Coast Guard officer in Staunton, VA. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, V. Gail Tyler; 4 children, Thomas Jr., Gaines II, Bonnie, and John; and their families. He was predeceased by his parents and his brother Gaines Jr.
Tom was already a “sailor at heart” when he entered the Coast Guard Academy. He graduated in 1954 and continued his military career for 23 years. During that time he had been the CO of 2 Coast Guard Cutters and XO of 4 more including the Barque Eagle. He deployed to Vietnam in 1967 as XO of USCGC Barataria. As a junior officer, he took part in multiple dangerous rescues at sea in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Following his Coast Guard retirement he founded Mystic Quick-Fix, a remodeling & handyman business. He took pride in his work and could “fix anything but refrigerators or broken hearts.” Customers from Newport to Westport came to rely on his skills and caring support. He took pride in enabling customers on fixed incomes to maintain their quality of life because of his dependable service.
During that time he maintained his sailing roots by taking his Masters Unlimited Mariners exam and setting a precedent by passing on his first attempt. He accepted various sea going missions on commercial and scientific vessels before being offered a full time Captain position on board the R/V Endeavor based at the University of Rhode Island Narragansett campus. He sailed a throughout the Atlantic on the Endeavor, retiring after ten years.
Funeral services will be held 11 AM Friday Dec 14th at St Marks Episcopal Church, Pearl St, Mystic. Interment will be at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Coast Guard Foundation, Inc. 394 Taugwonk Rd, Stonington, CT 06378.
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