Ann Yvette Tyler

Dr. Ann Y. Tyler, born on July 19, 1938, was the only child (nicknamed "Junie") of the late Philip Walter Eastman, Jr. (d. 1968), Bronx-based US Postal truck driver and musician, and Dr. Anna Byrd Eastman Wheaton (d. 2010), Registered Nurse and Medical Records Supervisor. Ann came home from Nursery school one day complaining that all "they" do is eat, play, and sleep. She then began P.S. (Public School) 99 until June 1950, then Herman Ridder Jr. H.S., 1950-52. After passing the entrance exam, Ann's advanced class finished grades in two years instead of the usual three. Because of private music lessons beginning with her Mom at age 4, Carina Woodward auditions were passed easily to gain entrance to the Manhattan Daily for the next three years. Getting to school included climbing 102 stairs of the park to get up "on the hill" to M & A on Convent Ave. Ann excelled in her studies and experienced many memorable moments, including when New York Senator Jacob Javits, spoke at her graduation on June 17, 1955. Ann, by then, after exploring several career options, obeyed her father when he decided that she would be a music teacher, explaining that she could do all that acting and dance stuff after she got her education degree. Ann never regretted her Dad's decision. By then she knew that music would be her life calling, with Christianity as her foundation. Ann was seven years old when she decided to be baptized, becoming a member of Victory Baptist Church. She had learned many Bible stories from the children's biblical literature her Mom had provided for her. On the day of her baptism, "Junie" still tried to "swim" while still in the baptistery of Rev. Adam Clayton Powell's Abyssinia Baptist Church in Harlem. Members of Victory Baptist Church in the Bronx under the pastorage of Rev. George L. Payne were baptized at Abyssinia until VBC could have their own baptistery built. Phil and Anna sang in the Senior Choir. Junie sang with the Tiny Tots Choir, was a bridesmaid in the Church's Tom Thumb Wedding, and then sang with the Young People’s Choir. One day at the rehearsal, she told the Choir Director that he had played the wrong note for the altos. By the time she got home, her parents knew, and during dinner, her father subtly convinced her to switch over to the Young People's Usher Board. Ann never questioned as to why the switch and enjoyed being a Youth Usher, whose members would sometimes sneak out to the candy store while the sermon was being preached. Phil expected Ann to continue onto the City College of NY. This time Anna said, “Oh no, she is going to a Negro School and get some Negro Culture.” Her Mother applied for and received a partial scholarship for Ann. Not until Ann was married with two children did Anna share that she had pulled out almost all of her retirement funds in addition to Phil's loans for the HU college bills. In February 1961, Ann received her Bachelors of Music Education from Howard University in Washington, D.C. While singing alto in the Howard University Choir, Ann, by then a Delta (inducted into the Alpha Chapter 1957), met a baritone named William Grant Ellison, an Omega Psi Phi man, from Philadelphia who became her college beau. They were married on September 13, 1959. From this union, two wonderful children, William Philip (Billy) and Annette Frances (Netti), were born in 1960 and 1962 respectively. After teaching in Philadelphia, PA for several years, Ann eventually moved to D.C. in 1964, then on to Calvert County, MD with her two children, quietly divorced, and taught there until 1991. She married Robert I. Tyler and from this union a lively, energetic Robert Warren "BeBop" Tyler was born in 1971. That same year a shy, kind big sister was welcomed and added to the family - Vivian Parran Davis. Supported by her family, Ann studied and earned her Masters of Music Education from Howard University in 1976. Even though the marriage union was dissolved, an amicable bond continued among father, mother, and all the children as they grew up into adulthood. While Ann taught, she also coordinated concerts, played at several churches, became a member and Past Matron of Rainbow Chapter #28, then Magdalene Chapter #45, and Past District Deputy Grand Matron of Myra Grand Chapter's Order of the Eastern Star, Prince Hall affiliated. She joined the local branch of the NAACP, becoming a LIFE member. Dr. Ann retired from Calvert County Maryland Public School and moved to Kissimmee, Florida in 1991. However, her career continued. As a music educator, she was urged to teach again. Her love of music in the Osceola County public schools and to the community was evident, creating and nurturing students, choruses and pianists. She rarely turned anyone down when music was needed for weddings, wakes, or funerals, performing with compassion and strict professionalism many times gratis. She served as musician for the Shiloh MBC and St. Luke MBC of Kissimmee, the Bethlehem Baptist Church of Winter Garden, FL, and musician-when-needed at the Friendship Baptist Church of St. Cloud. After becoming a permanent Floridian, she joined the New Covenant Baptist Church of Orlando (August 2003), Dr. Randolph Bracy, Founder and Pastor, where she was an active member of the Music Ministry: New Inspiration, Mass and Women’s Conference Choirs, the Music Advisory and Hour of Power Music Teams. Additionally, she was a member of District 3, the Through the Bible and Changing Woman Sunday School classes, and Covenant Players (Thespian Ministry). She loved her church, served faithfully, gave generously, and continued to attend service virtually when in person attendance was too challenging. Additionally, after returning to teaching in Osceola County, Dr. Ann continued her education to hone her skills. For six years she was a part time student, who traveled from Kissimmee to the University of Central Florida in east Orlando. Her perseverance was rewarded. She earned her Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Curriculum and Instruction in 2002. After teaching and retiring for the second time, Dr. Ann dappled in commercials as a senior artist over sixty and authored two books, Grandma Julia (2015) and The New Octogenarian: The First 180 Eighty Days (2022): Grandma Julia in fulfillment of a promise to her Uncle Julius Dunbar Eastman “to finish the story” and The New Octogenarian to share “Senior Moments” of her 8th decade which caused chuckles and amazement. Dr. Ann also made significant contributions to Osceola County through her political, civic, social, and community connections. Registered and voting Voter Osceola County (1992). Recognitions she received included· Osceola County NAACP “Lifetime Achievement Award" (Jun 24, 2018); during Black History Month and as an African American Pioneer (2020), as a featured leader, her wisdom was solicited and celebrated by the City of Kissimmee (2022), her biography submitted into the Congressional Record, and she received an official Congressional Certificate (2023) by U. S. Congressman Darren Soto. Dr. Tyler quietly passed away on Wed, March 12, 2025, surrounded by friends and family. Among her many family members and friends who mourn her passing, but rejoice in celebrating a well-lived life are her sons, William G. “Billy” Ellison, and ex-spouse/friend, Robert W. “BeBop” Tyler; daughter, Vivian Parran Davis; surrogate daughter, Dr. Telva Miller (Mark), a host of grandchildren and, great grands, cousins, dear care assistants: Debra Ashley, Cleo and Leroy King, Joyce Scott, Dr. Robert L. William, and Rev. Cynthia Hinson Graham; members of New Covenant of Orlando, Shiloh MBC and St. Luke MBC (Kissimmee, FL), Sorors of the Orlando Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc, the members of the education, civic, and political communities of Osceola County, FL, and Calvert County, MD, all of her former music students, and the staff and residents of the Providence Home ALF.

Tributes

Ann Yvette Tyler

July 19, 1938 - March 12, 2025