City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation
Obituary
Leon Walter Tyler Jr.
Raleigh, North Carolina
Age 77.
Died 09/06/2023.
Lee grew up in a small fishing town, Hoopers Island, MD. He lived with his parents, Leon Sr. (known as Tim), Mother Elsie, and younger brother, Mike. They lived a simple life with love and lots of laughter. He always admired his parents' love and devotion to one another.
Lee's love of sports began at a young age, and he played baseball, football, and track & field at Cambridge High School. He stayed active as an athlete throughout his life: He played rugby for the Raleigh Vipers as well as softball and racquetball on city and church leagues. When his health would no longer allow most sports, he converted his neighborhood tennis court to pickleball.
Lee was also a talented pianist and organist and received a double scholarship to the Peabody Institute for both. However, he enlisted in the Air Force instead and served as a communications specialist during the Vietnam War and was stationed in Thailand. After he returned stateside, Lee met his beloved wife, Linda, while he was stationed at Myrtle Beach Air Force Base. They were married on August 29, 1970, and moved to Salisbury, MD, where Lee worked as a real estate agent, draftsman for the city and planning commission, and as a credit officer in the poultry industry. During his time there, he also graduated from Salisbury State College. Lee and Linda moved their family to Raleigh in 1980 after the birth of their daughter, Kate, and Lee began working with Southern Bell. He continued his career in telecommunications and consulting until retirement.
Lee was vibrant and multifaceted both in work and in leisure. He loved photography and enjoyed taking team photos for youth sports. He also made stained glass windows, home brewed beer, and sold home brewing supplies at the flea market. Thanks to his gift of gab and storytelling, Lee became a distinguished Toastmaster and even started a new local group. He found great joy in helping new members develop their skills, and he built many of his closest friendships through Toastmasters.
Lee never met a stranger. Whether you were a shop owner, a medical professional, a server, or someone he met in passing, Lee wanted to get to know you and hear your stories. Many of his friendships began as mentorships, as he helped people write resumes, made introductions for job opportunities, offered compassionate advice, or just listened when anyone needed a friendly ear. He was a sincere and kind man and a wonderful friend to all he knew.
Lee served as a deacon and Sunday School teacher at Bay Leaf Baptist Church. He truly had a servant’s heart. He established a youth speakers’ group, coached youth basketball, and served on multiple church committees. With the help of his Sunday School class, he initiated and sponsored four refugees from Vietnam who became like family to him. He also performed mission work in China, Turkey, and Nicaragua.
Lee loved God and his family above all else. He loved spending time together enjoying great meals, shooting pool, playing board games, and telling stories. He loved watching his grandsons play music and soccer. Recently, Lee began writing a book about his father’s time as a bombardier in WW II and his escape from prison camp as a POW. Telling his father's story became his most important work, and it kept Lee going during his illness. In his final Toastmasters speech, he shared his father's story.
From the time he received his diagnosis in March, Lee had gratitude every single day. Despite requiring high levels of oxygen at home, experiencing shortness of breath with activity, and needing new and complicated medications, he was thankful. He would shrug and say, "This is my new normal,” as he found ways to continue enjoying his life. Every single day of his illness, before bed at night, he thanked Linda for a wonderful day. He loved her so deeply and always wanted to do more for her. He was a wonderful father and husband, a beautiful inspiration for us all.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you take a moment to show kindness or gratitude to a stranger. Call a friend or loved one you’ve lost touch with. Sign up for a class or try new hobby. Take time today to look for the moments in your life when you feel grateful, just as Lee was grateful for you.
Memorial Services will be held on Friday, September 15th, at 11 a.m., with visitation at 10 a.m. at Bay Leaf Baptist Church, 12200 Bay Leaf Church Rd., Raleigh, NC 27614
Donations in Lee’s honor can be made to:
Bay Leaf Missions
https://bayleaf.onlinegiving.org/donate/customform/298#!/
National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force
https://www.mightyeighth.org/support/
For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.
You can share this obituary using the following address, or click the button below to share on Facebook.
City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.
Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.
Our Promise
Apples to Apples
Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.
The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.
Genuine Care
We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.
Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.
We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.
State Wide
Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.
Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.
Our Services
$1196.75
Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.
$2875.66
We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.
$1917.84
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.
$2497.50
An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.
$5866.98
We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.
$3033.75
This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.
$2640.59
As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home also offers Aquamation. The Aquamation process, often referred to as alkaline hydrolysis, uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.