Stephen Albert Tyler

Stephen Albert Tyler

(1932 - 2020)

Stephen (Steve) Albert Tyler, husband to Martha (nee Grosskop) and father to Alison, passed away on April 2, 2020. Stephen was born on May 8, 1932 in Hartford, Iowa to Guy E. and Beatrice (nee Slack) Tyler. He attended Iowa high schools in Indianola and Parkersburg graduating in 1950. After graduating from high school he served in the Air Force during the Korean War.

He received a bachelor's degree from Simpson College. He went on to receive a master's and doctor's degrees from Stanford University. While at Stanford, he met Martha while they were the only 2 enrolled in a Dravidian language class. They were married on June 16,1962. Shortly after their marriage they did anthropological and linguistic field work among the Koya tribe of India.

He taught at the University of California, Davis (1964-67), Tulane University (1967-70), and joined the faculty at Rice University in 1970 until his retirement in 2010. While there he was endowed as Herbert S. Autry Professor of Anthropology and Linguistics.

Stephen authored four books and edited three collections. In 1969, one of his books, Cognitive Anthropology, became the definitive text in the field. He acted as associate editor for five journals, as well as being published in numerous journals on topics including ethnographic method, rhetorical theory and linguistics which inspired changes within the disciplines.

He was preceded in death by his mother and father; sister, Peggy Tyler; his brothers, Sidney O.Tyler and Henry E. Tyler; sisters-in-law, Lillie (nee Lewis) Tyler and LaVon (nee Smith) Tyler and brother-in-law, James D. Fawcett.

He is survived by his wife, Martha; daughter, Alison of Houston, Texas; his brother, Dr. David E. Tyler of Fort Mill, SC; and his sister, Georgene (nee Tyler) Fawcett of Omaha, NE. Also nieces Charlene (Jack) Cooper, Carlisle, IA; Kathryn Tyler Sexton, Newton, IA; Andrea (Richard) Doggett; Anne (Merritt) Sink of Charlotte,NC; and nephews Sidney (Jane) Tyler, Carlisle,IA; John Tyler, Fort Mill, SC; and many relatives and friends.