Leonard J. Tyl

3/14/1928 - 12/25/2024

Uncasville - Leonard J. Tyl, husband of Cecile Marie, of Uncasville, age 96, passed away Dec. 25, 2024, with his family by his side. Leonard was born March 14, 1928, in West Rutland, Vt., the youngest child of Edward and Wanda Tyl. In addition to his parents, Leonard was predeceased by his brothers, Henry and Eddie; and his big sister Sophie (Bride).

Leonard married Cecile March 5, 1951, in Burlington, Vt., while he was on leave from his service with the U.S. Army. They spent 73 (Yes, you read that right.) happy years together raising five children: Rosemary Tyl (Tim Canty) of Sacramento, Calif., Carolyn Tyl (Fred Szczesiul) of Lisbon, Daniel Tyl (Robin) of Brooklyn, and Catherine Hacklin (John) of Voluntown. They were predeceased by a son, Thomas W. Tyl (Rochelle) of Siler City, N.C. in 2011. Leonard leaves three grandchildren Jessica, Tristan and Jeffrey; and six great-grandchildren: Keesha, Remi, Huxton, Braydon, Holt and Levi.

Leonard's parents emigrated to Vermont from Poland, and Leonard was very proud of his Polish heritage. He graduated from West Rutland, Vt. High School in 1946, and was the first in his family to attend college. He spent his life serving his communities in education including teaching and administration. He received advanced degrees from St. Michaels College (bachelor's), University of Vermont (master's) and UCONN (Sixth Year).

From 1950 to 1952, he served in the U.S. Army with the 45th Division during the Korean War. He spent two years in Japan and Korea. Upon discharge as a sergeant, he received the Commendation Medal for meritorious service. Leonard continued to communicate with his "Army buddies" long after he left the service. They often met in different regions of the country for reunions.

Leonard taught in public schools in Vermont and Connecticut for 37 years. His first teaching assignment from 1953 to 1955 was in the Canadian border town, Canaan, Vt. He taught a variety of subjects and coached women's and men's athletic teams. From 1955 to 1959, he served as the principal of the Marshfield, Vermont Public Schools. It was a small school system and as such Leonard administered the grade k-12 school and taught various classes as the need arose. In 1959 to 1965, he served as the first assistant principal in East Windsor High School. Here he performed many administrative duties which paved the way to further professional advancements. The staff of the school had a saying they used after Leonard left the system when trying to solve a problem, "What would Mr. Tyl do?" In 1965 he became the principal at Montville High School. After one year, he became the school system's first assistant superintendent. Upon the death of the superintendent, Dr. Charles Murphy in 1972, he was appointed as the Montville Public Schools superintendent and served in that capacity for 17 years retiring in 1989. Leonard established many new programs during his tenure as superintendent including implementing the first computer programming class at the high school. He was honored for his distinguished career by having Montville's middle school named after him. The Leonard J. Tyl Middle School opened for business in the fall of 1992. Leonard was instrumental in the planning and building of the school even after retirement.

Education was the perfect fit for Leonard' s personality. He left positive marks on the faculty and staff in all of his positions. He was especially proud of his career in Montville where he hired an exceptional staff and, with their assistance, initiated many programs which enabled students to be successful in many fields after graduation.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Leonard and Cecile Tyl School Pride Award at the Leonard J. Tyl Middle School, Oakdale. The award is presented yearly in June to a deserving eighth grader.

Leonard Tyl was an active member of St. John Church, Uncasville where the services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025 with Waking hours from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 3, at the Woyasz & Son Funeral Home in Uncasville.