Gregg Randal Tyler of Santa Barbara died Nov. 25, 2011, at age 45.
Tyler was born July 16, 1966, in Boston, Mass., where his father, Dr. Marvin Tyler, was working for the U.S. Public Health Service as a dentist. They moved back to the West Coast where his brother Mark was born in Port Angeles, Wash. His mother, Sandy, a nurse, was a stay-at-home mom while the boys were growing up.
The Tylers moved to Woodburn, Ore., where Tyler was a standout athlete in soccer, basketball, track and football. Not only was he senior class president, but he was also the honored valedictorian of his class. The four Tylers skied together, sailed together and lived a life immersed in the game of soccer.
He then went on to the University of Oregon, was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity and graduated with a bachelor’s of science degree in computer science.
After college, Tyler went to work for Wavefront Technologies in Santa Barbara. He was a lead developer on the Academy Award-winning software package Advanced Visualizer, used to produce visual effects in many major motion pictures. He was eventually promoted to software development manager and then software architect at Alias|Wavefront.
In 1999, Tyler took a position as engineering manager with OpenWave, producer of email infrastructure software, and in 2004 accepted a position with Citrix Online as the product line manager for GoToMeeting.
Tyler’s charisma, positive attitude and generosity earned him a wide circle of friends. With his friends, he enjoyed surfing, hiking and hosting barbecues.
His beautiful daughter, Naomi, was born in 2000. Together they fished, flew kites, walked on the beach for hours, hiked, camped and played endless games together on the computer. Tyler was an active, involved father who did a lot for Naomi, from planning and hosting her birthday parties to organizing fundraising events at the Waldorf School. He was a great friend to so many, a wonderful father and a loving son.
A celebration of Tyler’s life will be held from 11:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. this Saturday, Dec. 3 at the Cabrillo Pavilion Arts Center, 1118 E. Cabrillo Blvd. in Santa Barbara.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Gregg R. Tyler Trust. Mail to R.E. Wacker Associates Inc., P.O. Box 15615, San Luis Obispo, CA 93406. Arrangements by McDermott-Crockett Mortuary.