The Elizabeth Tyler Strandberg Foundation Inc. was created in 2015 by family members to honor and remember Tyler’s legacy by doing what she did best: Helping Others. In this Christmas Season of giving, Tyler’s spirit is among us and many others. We are pleased that in her honor and memory in just a short period the Foundation has supported the following with donations of over $37,000.
- St. Andrews Episcopal Church Playground, Rocky Mount NC
- Word Tabernacle Church Playground, Rocky Mount, NC
- Rocky Mount Parks & Recreation Dog Park Memorial
- Angel Komenda
- Jackson Hole Marathon
- CV Ranch / Playground / Old Bills Run
- Nash Health Care Foundation
- St. Johns Episcopal Church, Jackson WY
- Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
- Agape Village Foundation
- Heart Math Tutoring
- The HEARTess Yard
- Boys & Girls Club, Rocky Mount NC
- Teton County Search & Rescue
- Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
- Kates Club
- Rocky Mount Academy Playground – Tyler’s Peak
- Old Bills Run – CV Ranch
- Helping Hand Project
- St. Andrews Episcopal Church Angel Tree Christmas Gifts
- Hopeway Foundation Charlotte NC
- UNC Lineberger Cancer Center – The Holly Fryar Project
- Animal Adoption Center, Jackson WY
TetonTy 
December 24, 2017 at 10:49 am
Wonderful!
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December 24, 2017 at 2:17 pm
We miss her so much,she will never be forgotten.God Bless Tyler and Nix today.Marie &Jim
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January 4, 2018 at 2:35 pm
Tyler and Jackson Hole
First tried to post this back in October but my inexperience and lack of tech savvy failed me. As we come to know in life, timing is everything (the younger generation will learn to understand/appreciate timing more as they get older), and not sure whether now is good but here it is anyway.
In late August last year, I went to Jackson Hole and the memory of the trip returns to me regularly, can’t say daily but often. Little things pop up to remind me of the trip – like I still have Jackson Hole on my weather app, the purchased coffee mug I drink out of several times a week, the picture in the frame I bought with the picture of the Tetons thru the chapel window, and other memories triggered by something I see, hear or read. It was my first visit (more later) and it truly exceeded what I had been told or expected. Probably would have never been made had it not been for Tyler.
I would never profess to have known Tyler well as our friendship was only emerging, in a very infant stage you might say, after a rather chilly initial face-to-face introduction in late July of 2015. An apologetic voicemail (oh how I wish I had saved it), in truly Southern manner style, surfaced the next morning and, after three days together at Nags Head, a budding relationship initiated which ended way to soon. Little memorable things evolved during those 3 days – conversations sitting on the beach, finding Milly asleep in my bed one night, shots with Buch, Blair, Josie, and, of course, Tyler at Kelly’s, the next morning “hangover”, and the transporting her and Milly to Williamston to meet their ride to the RDU airport – just a few of many memory pieces. But, her discovery that I had never been to Jackson Hole really was the catalyst to the brief beginning. She kept telling me how great it was out there, her work and “her boys” at C-V Ranch, and that I had to come visit to which I promised I would. Air travel and hotel reservations were made for a late September/early October visit to encompass rafting, hiking and whatever else she was planning. That trip, well, unfortunately and regrettably was cancelled. While two subsequent trips were planned but then again cancelled as well, an invitation from a childhood friend and his wife to view the total solar eclipse in Jackson Hole on this past August 21st was too great to pass up. So, flights were booked with no intentions of failing to make the trip this time.
What a sight to behold when sitting on the right side on the plane flying down the valley to land at the Jackson Hole airport. The Tetons are a magnificent display of beauty! It matched the picture I had open on my phone that Tyler had sent me the day she was landing from returning from North Carolina. Her way of luring me out there and showing me her world?
A guided fly fishing trip down the Snake the next day, drives around town and in Teton and Yellowstone Parks, and the Sunday church service at the Chapel of the Transformation took up the next two days. Sitting on the end of the 6th pew and observing God’s Teton creation and beauty thru the large church picture window was a chilling experience – a service I will never forget.
What a Monday! Waking up as I did each morning to the sight of the Teton mountain range, this day started a little different. It was barely light out but I heard a sound. Up I jumped and out the window were 2 moose grazing in the field and the mountains in the background had a red glow about them. The beginning of a day which was only to get better around 11:30-11:40 when the total solar eclipse was to occur. And was it amazing! Slowly, after an early morning of full sun, we watched with special glasses as the moon covered up the sun and things became totally dark. The temperature dropped almost 14 degrees during that time but gradually rose again as the eclipse went away. Again, another display of God’s beauty and power.
When invited to be in Jackson Hole for the eclipse, I initially didn’t know what date it was to occur but once known, the trip became all the more important and meaningful. I explained to my hosts why I needed the 22nd to myself and would be gone most of the day. They understood completely and off I went early that morning to fulfill the first part of my planned day. Made it over to over to the park and found a ranger. When I told him my objective, a rather bewildered look came over his face. He began to tell me that he and his wife had been climbing on the other side of mountain exactly two years prior to the day. Oh, the goose bumps (!) – obviously, we were intended to meet. He took me outside and pointed out the tree line height where I should probably end my ascent, then gave me directions to the parking lot where I found the unmarked path (named Apex) heading up the mountain. Any apprehension I had disappeared and immediately I felt energized, and off I began the trek up Teewinot. Hiking straight up at a 45 degree angle on a rocky path, climbing over rocks and around small scrub trees is work. It’s a slow procession and you need to go at a deliberate pace. Not that your feet or legs get tired but Easterners need time to adjust to thin air. You have to stop once in a while to catch your breath and admire the views of the valley below and the mountain above. And, as the ranger advised, to check around for bears (carried a can of bear spray with me)! After a while I found a nice big rock and decided this was where I’d just stop and take it all in – with some food, drink, and quiet time. Climbing by yourself is probably not smart but I never felt alone. It was like I had someone guiding me along and then it really struck me when I looked above and circling overhead was a raven. I was being watched and taken care of!
I spent the better part of an hour sitting there, took and sent friends pictures, and absorbed it all. Comfort and peace surrounded me and it felt so good. Really didn’t want to leave but the descent is just as hard as the ascent because the 45 degree angle doesn’t go away when going down. Takes about the same amount of time. Headed down the same path and, when reached the parking lot, put my backpack in the car and began the drive to the second goal of the day.
A two lane winding road (some paved and some not) on the west side of the Snake River takes you over towards Teton Village. Eventually, it brings you to C-V Ranch, where Tyler talked about her work and joyfully about “her boys” in the earlier mentioned beach conversations. I had phoned the week before and asked if I could come by where I was most welcomed by the staff. School was not in session, the boys gone, and staff training was in progress. The director greeted and toured me around the campus – the building where she worked, the two trees planted in Tyler and Catherine Nix’s memory, and the dedicated playground. He voluntarily talked how both Tyler and Nix had been so integral to the work of the school and how they were greatly missed. What really hit me though was his comment of how Tyler’s boys loved her so much and she them, and that she always carried a great big smile. Just as I remember and most likely you do to. A great ending to a wonderful and most memorable day!
As I was driving back to my hosts’ house, the recollection of a late night conversation with friends back in June came to mind. It was getting very late and much wine had been consumed when, totally out of the blue, one of the group asked the question “Have you ever thought about persons or events that have made an impact on your life?” It has stuck with me like glue. My day on Teewinot and visit to C-V only re-confirmed Tyler’s impact on me as I am sure she has had on others.
Yes, I didn’t have the chance to really get to know her well but have been trying to learn and know more about Tyler during the last two plus years and will continue to do so. It has not been an easy task but my first trip to Jackson Hole was only a start and most rewarding. It allowed me an initial glimpse of her world as she had wanted me to know. I look forward learning more about her on future visits.
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