Dr. Stephen Tyler
1932 - 2020
Dr. Stephen Tyler
1932 - 2020
Obituary
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Stephen Tyler Obituary
1932-2020
Stephen Albert Tyler, husband to Martha Tyler and father to Alison, died April 2, 2020. He was born May 8, 1932 in Hartford, Iowa. After graduating from high school he served in the Air Force during the Korean War. He received a bachelor's degree from Simpson College and master's and doctor's degrees from Stanford University. He met his wife in a Dravidian language class where they were the only two enrolled. Shortly afterwards they did anthropological and linguistic fieldwork among the Koya tribe of India. He taught at the University of California, Davis (1964-67) and Tulane University (1967-70). In 1970 he joined the faculty at Rice University and later was endowed as the Herbert S. Autry Professor of Anthropology and Linguistics. He retired in 2010.
He authored four books and edited three collections. In 1969 Cognitive Anthropology became the definitive text in the field. He acted as associate editor for five journals and was published in numerous journals on topics including ethnographic method, rhetorical theory and linguistics in which he inspired changes within the disciplines.
In addition to his wife and daughter he is survived by his sister Georgene of Omaha, Nebraska and his brother David of Fort Mill, South Carolina.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Ryan Bishop
March 30, 2024
A favorite memory of Stephen comes from around 1990 or 1991 when he gave a talk at our regular graduate forum -- well, sort of gave it. It was a new paper, "Them Others," and he asked a group of us to read numbered sections of the paper while he lounged, listening and sipping champagne while laughing at the many jokes in the piece and not saying a word until the discussion time. When I told him later that I liked the entire performance and his ability to crack himself up, he replied "Well, I knew where the jokes were."
Ryan Bishop
December 5, 2021
Dear Martha and Alison, I am only very belatedly learning of Steve's death. My hope that is that some measure of solace is possible for you both. Steve was a mentor, interlocutor, inspiration and intellectual guiding spirit for me. His thoughts reverberate in my own and those of any of the students with whom I shared them. He truly sculpted my view of what an honest intellectual in the university can and should be. Please accept my most belated condolence. yours, Ryan
Clayton
November 23, 2020
I remember Dr. Tyler well as a remarkable linguistics professor who made you think about what else is going on in the world of humanity; in others minds. Still use these skills all these years later. Will be missed. Clayton
Bradford Keeney
May 11, 2020
Steve was the most remarkable scholar I ever knew. His relational warmth and generosity of attention were as remarkable as his uncompromising intellect. What a rare gift he was to everyone fortunate enough to have known him. I am deeply grateful for every moment I had with him. He astonished me when he was alive. Now that he is gone, his absence astonishes me even more. Brad Keeney
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Mariska Stevens
April 20, 2020
The best friend and teacher I ever had, the most honest scientist and the closest warm and understanding soul left us speechless. In warm memory of Steve and with my sympathies to Martha and Alison for their loss. Mariska Stevens
April 8, 2020
Getting to know and learn from Steve Tyler was one of the greatest honors of my life.
Alison Tyler
April 7, 2020
He was the best father anyone could ever have.
Alison Tyler
April 7, 2020
He was the best father I could have ever had.
April 7, 2020
Steve Tyler was my uncle. I remember first meeting him with my aunt Martha in the early 1960's ... he was wearing his Air Force reserve uniform. They spent their honeymoon living in a hut built on stilts in the middle of nowhere, India. I remember they had to leave their cats behind because of DDT spraying. Decades later, the company that I worked for (P&G) hired a number of young anthropologists to aid in our consumer research work. At a luncheon, I asked them if they knew of Steve Tyler ..., they all did. They all studied his textbook on Cognitive Anthropology. I only ever met with Steve at family get-togethers, and we never lived in the same city. The last time I saw Steve was at my mother's funeral in 2013, and he was just beginning to show signs of cognitive decline. But I always felt a great sense of pride of having him in our family. He was a quiet man, always seemingly deeply in thought. Rice University Dean of Anthropology wasn't a typical endpoint for a farm boy from Iowa. But he left an enduring legacy that we will all talk about for years. He will be missed.
Elionne
April 5, 2020
I miss this remarkably humble and brilliant man. He was an outstanding scholar, writer, and professor.
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