On Christmas Day, December 25th, 1940, Ermon Lewis Tyler, Jr., was born in the Arkansas Valley of Eastern Colorado to Ermon and Bonnie Tyler – the second oldest of five children. Growing up, he was affectionately known as “Butch” and attended school in Fowler, Colorado.
After graduating high school in 1958, he enlisted in the United States Navy where he served our country for 8 years. On his first leave, he returned to Fowler to marry Freda Jane Gaddis on August 14, 1959, and began their life together moving from station to station every couple of years during which time he had several deployments at sea including the USS Hancock and the “Big E”, the USS Enterprise, the first nuclear aircraft carrier as part of the around-the-world cruise of the Nuclear Task Force 1. During those years, all three of their children were born: Tim in 1962 in Alameda, CA, Bonnie in 1964 in Tucumcari, NM and Theresa in 1965 in Jacksonville, FL.
After his honorable discharge from the Navy in 1966, Lew, as he like to be called, began a 28-year career with IBM, which eventually brought them back to Colorado where they raised their family. After retirement, Lew went to work another 7 years for Lockheed Martin. In 2001, they moved to Ava, MO, where they lived for 18 years and in 2019 they moved to their current home in Springfield.
Early in their marriage, both Lew and Freda trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Savior, which began a heritage of involvement in local churches wherever they lived, teaching others and supporting the ministry and world-wide missions, and in later years participated in the faith ministry of Gideons Int’l.
Lew is preceded in death by his parents, Bonnie In 1964 and Ermon in 1992, 3 of his 4 siblings: Gerald, Sherry and Glenn.
He is survived by Freda, his wife of 64 years, his sister Melba of Montgomery, AL, his three children and their spouses (who all feel like his children), 10 grandchildren, and 17 great-grandchildren (and 2 more on the way).
Funeral services for “Lew” will be Friday, June 7, 2024 at 10:30 A.M. at the Wilson Creek Baptist Church, 6411 S. Farm Rd. 115, Brookline, MO 65619. Burial with full military honors will be Friday, June 7, 2024 at 1:00 P.M. at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery, 5201 S. Southwood Rd., Springfield, MO. Officiating will be Pastor Randall Moody. Family requests donations be made to Gideon’s International c/o Ava Camp, P.O. Box 82, Ava, MO 65608.
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