Mr. David Gardiner Tyler III passed away at his home in Daugherty, on May 10, 2022. Born in Richmond on May 22, 1933, he was the son of D. Gardiner Tyler Jr. and Anne SheltonTyler, and brother to George Tyler and Anne Tyler Netick. He was the husband of Dolores Hatton Tyler and father of David, Wat, Mona, and Dara.
Mr. Tyler attended high school in Charles City, Va., after which he attended William & Mary College for one year before graduating from Elon College with a bachelor’s degree in physics. Mr. Tyler was a fourth-generation military veteran, having proudly served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1953 to 1956. He was a great-grandson of President John Tyler, 10th president of the United States.
Mr. Tyler moved with his family to the Eastern Shore of Virginia in 1969 when he accepted a job with the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences in Wachapreague. He later owned marine railways in Wachapreague and Poplar Cove where he serviced and repaired boats while enjoying the company of Eastern Shore watermen and fishermen.
Mr. Tyler possessed a strong work ethic and physical toughness that was admired by all that knew him. Active from dawn to dusk late into his 80s, he would labor for hours through heat and cold for a small fee or a thank you. In the evenings and weekends, he could be found umpiring baseball or refereeing basketball games.
But his lifelong passion was baseball. He played in college, was an infielder on the San Francisco Giants AAA team, and played summer-league and sandlot ball every year until he was 70 years old. He organized the Virginia Shores and coached it for over 20 years. He loved the game and instilled his competitive spirit in the many athletes he taught and mentored. For his contributions, he was inducted into the Eastern Shore Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004.
In addition to his wife and children, he is survived by seven grandchildren, David, Hannah, Haden, Bennett, Oliver, Tyler, and Shelton; and two daughters-in-law, Susan and Diane.
A memorial service for Mr. Tyler in the near future is pending and will be announced when scheduled.
Mr. Tyler was a longtime member of St. James’ Episcopal Church, to which contributions in his memory may be made to P.O. Box 540, Accomac, VA 23301.
Memory tributes may be shared with his family at www.williamsfuneralhomes.com
