Tyler Robert Rowland

Tyler Robert Rowland Tyler Robert Rowland, 21 years old, died peacefully at home in Tallahassee on March 26, 2010 after a three-year battle with cancer. A lifelong resident of Tallahassee, he achieved much in his brief life. As a Maclay High School student, he attended the Capitol Regional Science and Engineering Fair all four years, collecting multiple awards in senior botany, including second place as a freshman and first place as a sophomore, junior, and senior. Furthermore, he placed second overall as a sophomore and won best of show as a junior. He attended the State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida all four years as well, again collecting awards in senior botany of fourth place as a sophomore and third place in both his junior and senior years. As a junior, he was awarded the DeAbreu Plantation Estates Azalea Research Center Award for outstanding research, and as a senior was elected opening speaker at the Jason Colloquium at the same state fair. He was elected to attend the International Science and Engineering Fair in Indianapolis his junior year. His four year research project involving the kudzu plant culminated in a Tallahassee Democrat article of January 27, 2007 entitled "From Fiendish Plant to Fuel", which was picked up by the national wire services resulting in an interview on National Public Radio which was broadcast worldwide in the summer of 2007. In June 2007, he entered the National Mathematics Competition in Oklahoma City where he placed second in the logic category. He was awarded an honorable mention as Tallahassee's "Best and Brightest" in the science category that spring as well. After being elected "most likely to succeed" by his senior class peers, he graduated from the Maclay School with high honors. He attended the Georgia Institute of Technology after receiving the Tallahassee Georgia Tech Booster Club Scholarship, majoring in industrial engineering. Despite his illness, which interrupted his studies multiple times, he continued to maintain a 4.0 GPA throughout his college career. But Tyler Rowland was much more than his list of achievements. Tyler loved college sports, cheering for the Seminoles at virtually every football and basketball game. In eight years, he never missed attending the ACC Basketball Tournament. His enthusiasm extended to his beloved Yellow Jackets as well, and he was most recently elected to the "Ramblin' Reck Club", an honorary organization that maintains the antique automobile so integral to Georgia Tech sports. A friend to all who knew him, Tyler was always the champion of the underdog. Despite his three-year battle with cancer, those around him should be comforted by knowing that his incredible strength and courage has helped countless others with similar struggles. His potential was boundless, and the world has lost someone who could have given so much. He is survived by his loving parents, Bob and Sue Rowland of Tallahassee; his brother, Josh Rowland of Tallahassee; his paternal grandparents, Lynn and Masue Rowland of Biloxi MS; his maternal grandparents, Donald and Peggy Farr of Destin, his uncles, Don Farr Jr. of Tallahassee and Mark McLaren of Jacksonville; his aunts, Sandy McLaren of Jacksonville and Holly Farr of Tallahassee; and his cousins, Mason, Hadley, and Reece McLaren of Jacksonville, and Grant and Camille Farr of Tallahassee. The service will be held at 11 a.m. EDT Saturday, April 3, 2010 at Killearn United Methodist Church, with burial at Roselawn Cemetery. A reception for family and friends will follow the service in the church fellowship hall. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to cancer research in Tyler's name to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, P.O. Box 4486, Houston TX 77210-4486 (www.mdanderson.org/gifts ).