1 Timothy 4:12 “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”

Tyler may have been young at the time of his death, but his short life impacted many. On this page, we’ve created a forum to share good memories, healed hurts, new faith, and found purpose.

Scroll below to read what others have written about Tyler.  Submit your own memory or story of impact and inspiration in the submission form at the end of this page.

This boy is a miracle who God used to change my life. Every time I would see him he would light up my broken world with his smile.

I remember back when Tyler and my son were both 5 years old. My son was telling me, “Mom, we were running and I fell down. Everyone laughed, but Tyler came and gave me his hand.”

While Tyler was very smart, what has really stayed with me was his total faith in our Lord, Jesus Christ. I was so amazed that someone so young had such a mature and dedicated belief system and was willing to share it. Tyler was so comfortable in his faith, and I was still struggling with being able to share mine.

I loved that he always spoke with me like I mattered. He was interested in what I had to say, and that is a wonderful gift.

You go to a funeral and you hear all these stories. You know not all of them are really true – they’re a little bit exaggerated. The beauty of today is that everything that’s being said is true. The reason I know this is Tyler came to me after class one day and said, “Can I talk to you a minute?” I was thinking it was about grades or about the lab we did. But he said, “Could you pray for me?” And I was taken aback – students don’t usually ask me this. And I said, “Sure, what an honor! What is it you need prayers about?” Tyler said, “I just want you to pray for me to have courage. I have so many friends that don’t know Christ the way I know Christ. And I would love to have the courage to talk to them about that.” It was so impressive. He touched my life in numerous ways.

I watched Tyler grow from a sweet, inquisitive and very bright little boy, to an amazing young man. My biggest joy was watching him make the decision to accept the Lord at VBS (which wasn’t easy for him because he had so many questions) and watching him walk up the aisle toward Pastor Kevin…my heart soared! Tyler you are never far from my thoughts and forever in my heart.

To me, Tyler was love. During a very difficult time in my life, Tyler continued to pour love on me. He would call and text to check up on me, even when I was doing my best to push everyone away. I will be forever grateful for his faith in me, and his unwavering friendship. Now, I try my best to take his love and share it with others, to live and to love like Tyler did.

It’s been hard for me to think about, but after Tyler’s passing I had a rough time with it. I spiraled into not the best life style and choices, but this past year Tyler’s words came to me that no one would turn away from Christ from his passing. I am now with Youth With A Mission in Hawaii, going to school to become a missionary. In his honor I’m leading young kids and more and more people to Christ, and I will be going to the Philippines in December. I think about Tyler every day.

Tyler, I still remember vividly our time in Costa Rica. Your fear of the bugs, your laughter, your hard work, your passion for winning the game against the Ticos… and so many other things. However, the one thing that is incredibly clear in my mind isn’t a game or a joke but your heart for the lost people in the world. In Costa Rica, I got to see a little glimpse of how much you deeply cared for the people who didn’t know the Lord. All of us could see that this passion was a huge part of your life and it changed us all. Tyler, you were an example to us of what it looks like to remain strong in the midst of such great struggles. My senior year of high school is one I will never forget. I will look back and see the way one person through their passionate heart changed a school. Tyler, your life challenged all of us to truly live. Not to attempt to live life to this world’s definition of the fullest life but to live life for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank you for the lessons we learned. Thank you for your faith and your compassion. Thank you for the smiles and the laughter. Thank you for the tears, they helped us all to grow. Thank you for your legacy and your story that we can share to tell the world just how amazing the love of Christ is.

When I first met Tyler, it was 6th grade. I never really had a place there. One of the best memories I have of Tyler was recess. We were playing tag. No one wanted me to play, but Tyler said, “Come let him.”

I didn’t have friends for the first two to three quarters freshman year. And I remember that I was in the after-school room one afternoon. Tyler was there with some other people in our grade that I didn’t know. But Tyler called me over to join them because he saw I was sitting by myself. I didn’t even know he knew my name. But I was so grateful someone took the time to make me feel included, that I wasn’t invisible to him. I still remember that, because I have met very few people like him. Tyler treated everyone like they mattered.

I had the honor of teaching Tyler in 6th grade. I remember during a parent conference, looking at his mom and saying, “All I have to say is that Tyler is such a child of pure heart.” There’s a story I’ve shared many times. One afternoon Tyler came in as I was grading papers. He said, “I need to change an answer on my math test.” “Well, why would you like to change the answer, Tyler?” And that’s when he about knocked me off my chair. He said, “That’s not my answer. I panicked during the test.” And I nodded my head because I knew Tyler was a very conscientious student who worried about his grades and always wanted to do the best. He said, “I panicked, and in that moment I wrote someone else’s answer down.” And of course, in 6th grade you’re trying to guide your students. I looked at Tyler, and wanting to give him points for doing the right thing, said, “Well, I respect your honesty, Tyler. Why don’t we just leave your answer the way it is?” And he said, “No. That is not my answer. You need to take that off there.” And I thought to myself, in a moment when I wanted to teach him about honesty, he was already there. And I’ll never forget that, because this was a student who was teaching his teacher. I’ll never forget that about Tyler – that’s who he was.

Every time I would see Tyler, he would stop what he was doing, say, “Hi, Miss Karen”, and walk towards me with those long arms outstretched to give me a “Tyler Hug”. I loved it!

I think often of how you always seemed focused on others: concerned about their needs and well-being, and reaching out to be sure they felt included and appreciated. When you were transferred to the hospital ICU and struggling through some absolutely miserable circumstances, you somehow still managed to maintain that focus on others. Even when it was a challenge for you to communicate, I recall numerous instances when the concerns you expressed from your ICU bed related to the happiness of a friend, or of your girlfriend, or of your dad or mom. When the medical staff gave you an oxygen mask to assist your breathing, it became harder for us to hear your words. I will always remember how, once when I was alone at your bedside, you tried to communicate something to me through the mask. When I apologetically told you I didn’t understand, you tried again… this time with accompanying hand motions. I still couldn’t catch your words and I felt terrible. I knew you were really physically exerting yourself to try to form the words, and I was certain that you must be trying to get help for some pain or discomfort or other need. Heroically, you expended your remaining reserves of strength to try again a third time, and then a fourth time. Finally I understood. Only you weren’t trying to vocalize a need after all. You simply wanted to give me the gift of hearing, “I love you, Aunt Karen.” That is the big-hearted young man I will always remember. May all who have been touched by your life learn to love others well — just as you have shown us.

I frequently played Christian music in class and had the students read the words in Spanish. One day after our song, Tyler told me the lyrics had renewed his desire to be closer to the Lord. During our conversation, I was very touched by his love for Jesus, not to mention his willingness to talk to a middle-aged teacher about music! As I write this, I can’t help but think of the Bible account of Jesus referring to Nathanael as a person in whom there was no guile. Tyler was like that to me. There was no deceit or arrogance in him. He was just a forthright, humble young man who didn’t fear talking to others about matters of faith. The last time I saw Tyler was his visit to school during his illness. Despite the protective mask he was wearing, I knew he was smiling at me. There was still that warm glimmer in his eyes. He gave me a big hug and then headed to the cafeteria with his friends by his side. As I watched them leave, I realized that hug had come from one of the bravest people I had ever known.

I’ve been so incredibly blessed to have some of the most passionate, faith-filled discussions you could ever imagine with Tyler in the hospital. In every discussion, Tyler was concerned about his friends. We had so many conversations where he said over and over again I want all my friends to be in heaven with me some day.

Knowing Tyler was one of the biggest honors of my life. That kid is…. I can’t describe him… He’s that good… He really changed me… He made me grow in-and-out to be better person.

Tyler made me laugh the minute I met him. Tyler – as you know – cheered people up. There was a day when I was feeling self-conscious about my appearance. I was having a day where I was feeling rather “ugly.” A few of my friends teased me about this which only made it worse. But Tyler looked me in the eye and told me I shouldn’t worry about those sorts of things. You don’t find many boys these days who will tell a girl not to worry about society’s version of “beauty.” It left me feeling a tad bit better about myself, knowing it isn’t what other people think of me. It’s what God thinks of me.

I got to know Tyler freshman year. Being my first year of high school, I was obviously nervous and didn’t know many people. For me it always takes a while before I get comfortable around new friends. I remember in English Tyler would always try to say something to me or joke around. He helped me adapt to a new school more quickly than I would have without him. It was almost like he had a knack for picking kids who were not quite fitting in or going through a hard time, and making sure he talked to them to try to make them feel better. He liked making sure everyone was included, not just the “cool” kids. When Tyler was diagnosed with Leukemia, I really didn’t understand what he would have to go through. Though probably the hardest time in Tyler’s life, his faith grew instead of failing. It turned out he ended up encouraging us instead of the other way around.

Tyler, I want you to know that you changed the trajectory of our family. While praying all those months for you, most times literally on my knees, I formed an intimate relationship with God that I not only never had, but never knew was possible. Because of you, as a family we pray harder, believe deeper, and love stronger. I never got to meet you. I promise you none of the Tolleys will ever forget you! I can’t wait to hug you tight when we meet in Heaven. I can’t wait to thank you for your courage and great faith. A 15 year old boy, who I never met, taught me more about love and faith and prayer than any other experience in my life.

Over these past couple years I have been at the Culinary Institute of America for college to become a chef. Before I left I spent every moment I could with Tyler. Once he passed I kind of felt lost and a bit distraught because the thing he told me before I left was to not leave and if I did I better come back and cook him dinner and bake him cookies. I never got this opportunity though. My school has recently put together a Relay for Life team called Culinarians Against Cancer. I joined in honor of Tyler and other people affected by cancer in my family. This entire week was wear purple and wear the color to represent the color and ribbon that you support. This week I woke up and wore orange every day. This coming Saturday is the Relay for Life event and I am going in honor of Tyler. Doing this event is something that I know Tyler would have wanted to participate to share his story, since he cannot physically be there I know that he will be there in spirit doing the run with me, and by my side as I share his story and what a great guy he was. Tyler may not be on Earth but I know that he’s always there in spirit watching over us all as we carry out our day to day activities. This small act is a way I live like Tyler. I hope my story will inspire others to continue to Live Like Tyler!

Tyler has inspired me since I first heard about him and he will always inspire me. Any time I was having a bad day or thought the world was against me I could go on CaringBridge and read the journal and see how I should be living. No matter what he was going through he never seemed to let it get him down and he never lost his faith in God. This amazed me. I never imagined that someone who was only 2 years older than me could have such a close relationship with God and Tyler has inspired me to strengthen my relationship with God. So thanks to Tyler I now read the Bible every day and I know that it doesn’t matter how old you are, you should always have faith in God.

Every time I seemed to be straying from my faith, something somehow would come up about Tyler. Whether it was BigStuf the next year or my friends at a completely different youth group from Connections talking in their sermon about his story. Every time that happened, I knew God was telling me something that I should have been listening to all along. He was saying that He is always with us, no matter what we do or where we go in life. And that has always kept me grounded in my faith and remembering to love and live like Tyler.

My son has inspired me in many ways throughout my life. On one particular day at Hopkins, Tyler asked me if I was afraid that he may die. I didn’t quite answer his question, replying, “Dying is a possibility, but I have faith that God will heal you.” Then Tyler asked again, “but are you afraid?” “I’m worried Tyler, but not afraid.” I explained that my worry came from being a nurse and seeing situations less severe than his go terribly wrong. Tyler’s next response in this line of questioning has really helped me through the grieving process, and has inspired me to share it with others. Here’s what Tyler said:

“Dad, you believe we are created by God, right? (yes)

“I’ve heard you say that relationships are the most important thing in life, and that God wants to be in a relationship with us, right?” (I said that)

“You’ve also said that each day we wake up together in this great country should be considered a blessing, a gift from God sort of, right?” (What’s your point, Tyler?)

Tyler graciously stated, “If you truly believe what you have been telling me all these years, then there is no reason to be angry at God simply because our relationship or His gift didn’t last as long as you wanted it to. We are all going to die. We are all limited by time, but God is not limited by time. Be thankful, not angry.”

Tyler was more worried about his family and friends than he was facing his own mortality. I ponder these words almost every day. Thank you, son!