Sharron Earthsign
God places people in your life as you need them…angels to see you through challenges and hard-times. Tyrone was the angel God delivered to my door in 1981, after I moved to Indiana to attend grad school. When mutual friends came to visit me, Tyrone rode with them. Several months passed before we began dating…however, for many years after, Tyrone was the most important person in my life.
Tyrone was the supportive, nurturing, loving and affectionate friend I needed to survive throughout, and after, my grad school years. His jovial personality, unique wit, superior intellect and easy nature grounded me. It was pleasurable to be around and near him. When he laughed heartily or uttered one of his famous one-liners, I was, and other people in his presence were, forced to join him in laughter. When we played board games, cards, discussed issues, talked to friends—the depth of his knowledge out-shined everyone else’s. One friend actually dubbed Tyrone “the Trivia King” because he was knowledgeable about so many things. He knew all there was to know about all sports—names, stats, backgrounds and so on. He also was an avid reader—magazines, newspapers, all types of printed materials. Going to or watching movies with Tyrone was also a great experience because he was extremely observant—he could relate every detail of a movie afterward and enjoyed analyzing plots. I remember how much he enjoyed the sitcom “Cheers”—I learned to love the show because of him. Tyrone was very athletic, too. He loved to play basketball—often at the court on Elmhurst and Dexter—and he liked walking. When it was party-time, Tyrone was the person to hang with--he loved good music, danced every record and thought he was the best dancer ever! It gave him great pleasure to gloat over me about latest hits that hadn’t reached the town where I lived. But he made up for it my making and giving me cassette recordings of the most popular songs. He was also a meticulous person who believed in grooming himself and being fashionable. Tyrone was articulate, too—he had no problem expressing his feelings—his joy, excitement, sadness, fears, displeasure (seldom, if ever, anger) and especially, love. I recall how elated he was when he became a father, we spoke over the phone—he was overjoyed and extremely proud! I learned so much from Tyrone about communication! My fondest memories are of times we spent together in Detroit and on-the-road, his big bear hugs and the long-distance telephone conversations that sustained our relationship. Over the years, Tyrone and I lost contact with each other. Thanks to facebook, two years or so ago we were able to catch-up and stay-in-touch.
All of the gifts Tyrone brought into my life enabled and sustained me when I needed them most—I am forever grateful to God! Rest-in-peace, Tyrone!
