LEE COUNTY, Alabama (WTVM) – Family, friends and loved ones of a Phenix City man gathered Tuesday evening to pay their respects following his sudden death.
Tyler Smith, 28, died in a motorcycle accident in Salem on Tuesday morning after hitting a deer.
Tyler was a local artist, worship leader and mental health advocate. Family members say he lived by a Bible verse from the book of John every day. His sons’ mother says they will miss him greatly.
“Thank you for giving me these boys, the best gift I could ever have,” said Mallory Smith, the victim’s ex-wife.
It pains Smith that the father of her children died so early.
According to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, he was thrown from his motorcycle at the corner of Lee Road 254 and Highway 20.
Hours after his death, his family honored his memory by releasing balloons. As the black and white balloons rose into the sky, the crowd heard Tyler’s latest song.
“He was a pillar of community for so many people. He spoke the name of Jesus, was full of love and non-judgmental and just loved his fellow human beings so much,” Smith said.
Smith describes Tyler as an aspiring artist for the past decade and also as a worship leader in Columbus and East Alabama.
“…and a Christian for everyone in the church, because ‘Tyler hates life,’ based on John 12:25,” Smith said.
This Bible passage says: “Whoever loves his life will lose it, but whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”
Tyler leaves behind two sons and a stepson.
“It was a great day for all three boys: Wyatt, Eli and Garrett,” Smith said. “They’ll always remember him through his music. He wrote a song about his mom a few years ago called ‘Angels Don’t Cry.’ They’ll always have a guardian angel in their dad and I’m just very, very grateful that they have his music to remember him by.”
Smith says she is grateful for the overwhelming support from near and far.
“He’s just so loved by his community,” Smith added. “He would probably want me to say ‘Go Cowboys.’ We’re just grateful for the community’s outpouring of support for my family, his family who is coming from Texas, his fiancée Savannah Kilburn and all the members of Abel Ministries, Wynnton United Methodist Church and Church on the Rock.”
The grandmother of Tyler’s children told News Leader 9 that Tyler’s sons had fond memories with their father on Monday, just before the tragic accident Tuesday morning. They enjoyed his presence at soccer practice and spent the evening listening to his music.
At this time, no funeral arrangements have been made.
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