October 31, 2017

Don we were so sorry to hear of your loss.  Not sure if you remember us or not we spent many trips with you and Mickey canoeing.  You taught our canoe course and down river course, making it very enjoyable and memorable.  We retired to Florida but keep track of things in Lancaster and were very sad to see this in the obituaries.  With greatest sympthany Linda and Norm Burkey

October 30, 2017

Don and family,
David and I were very sad to hear of Mickeys  passing . You both made it such a joy to serve you in our restaurants . Remember your wonderful 50th anniversary party.  Don,may you have a toast of oban to your dear wife . 
 
Hugs, 
David and Linda Eshleman 

October 30, 2017

from Chris (Barnard) Castaldi
Aunt Mickey was a caring, kind person, who always had time to listen and appreciate what was shared. She didn’t let life’s distraction come between our conversation. She always had time to offer a helpful and comforting word. Her years of weekly phone calls to my Mom, her sister Beverly, brought comfort and connection to both Mom and Dad as the destruction of dementia heaped losses upon them. Her sons, my cousins were my first best friends, along with the Oconner clasn, as we gathered to play in Grandma’s house and yard. Now I appreciate so much more those times of closeness and friendship with family. 
I send my heartful prayers of comfort and peace to you, Uncle Don, Ken, Rob and Rick and families.
I am remembering Aunt Mickey and the Truth and Beauty of her life in my daily prayers. 
Rick your letter is a beautiful remembrance of a very fine woman, Mom and spouse. Thank you for sharing that.

October 30, 2017

Deepest condolences to the entire TYRRELL family.  I was privileged to have known Marylin as a friend but more for our association on the whitewater canoe trips.  Although we all quit paddling some years ago due to age, we frequently talked about the trips and I will miss that.  To a great Lady – Goodbye. I, as everyone else will miss you.
 
ALLEN and HARRIET ESHLEMAN
 
 

October 30, 2017

John and karen palumbo send prayers to the tyrrell family for their loss.

October 30, 2017

Dear Don and family, Mickey played a big role in my life as I began my work at the YWCA.  She was a very caring person.  Phil also remembers her with thankfulness and kindness for her work at SELHS.
We hope your memories help you in this time of sadness and in the future.
Rhea and Phil Starr

October 29, 2017

Dear Don,
I am so very sorry for the loss of your dear Mickey. Know that I, as are many, am thinking of you and wishing you comfort and peace.
Ever fondly,
Ellie

October 29, 2017

My sincere condolences, Dr. Tyrell, Ken, Rob, and Rick.  I remember your mom fondly for her warm greeting, gentle way, and love of laughter. 
I pray the pain of your loss is, in time, assuaged by fond memories of Mrs. Tyrell!
Bill Francos

October 29, 2017

My deepest sympathies to the Tyrrell
family, I volunteered with Mickey at 
Lancaster Regional Medical Center. 
She was a wonderful lady and will be
missed
Sincerely
Kirstin Smith

October 29, 2017

Don:
We were sadden to hear of Mickey’s passing. The Leedom Family will always treasure the memories we have of paddeling with both of you. The members of the Canoe Club became family to us and we morn Mickey as we would a treasured reletive.  Please know we hold you in our prayers.
Alan and Joan Leedom
Scot and Nicole Leedom

October 29, 2017

I am Marilyn Tyrrell’s third-born son. My mom was a special person. If you knew her, you already knew that she was a special person. But I hope you can tolerate me trying to convince you just the same. Trying to convince people that Mom was special feels sorta like going to a flower show and trying to convince the people who are there that flowers are pretty. It’s so easy that it’s not technically necessary. But I’ll try anyway, since easy tasks are my specialty.
 
Marilyn was born when the depression was still affecting everyone and everything, and she was born into a family that had little. It wasn’t easy. Her dad drove a trolley for a living. Her mother lost her vision when Marilyn was a young girl. Marilyn grew up in a small house with her Mom, her Dad, an older sister, a younger sister, a grandma, and an aunt. So her dad was the only guy in the house. I can only imagine how many arguments he lost. Neither of my mom’s parents were around long enough, and I’ll never stop wishing that I could have met them. But I know my mom. And I know that parents matter. So I know that my grandparents’ influences on my mom must have been good, because my mom was a genuinely good person. Let me tell you about my mom.
 
At a time in our history when having a supersized ego and uncontrolled narcissism gets you into the White House, there was my Mom. Mom never enjoyed being the center of attention yet she always had a strong influence. I’ve always respected that about her, and I’ve always hoped I could learn that from her. She knew how to quietly – really quietly – encourage people to treat each other with love and respect without them realizing it. She was somehow like a loving ninja, encouraging people to act lovingly and respectfully without them even realizing that she had wielded her influence. To me it seems like the best way to influence others and I can only hope that I learned some of her skills.
 
Mom and dad both grew up in Connecticut. When they were still in their teens Mom and Dad were married and had their first son. Because Dad was in the Army back then, they moved often. They lived in various Army communities in Georgia and in North Carolina. But before long Dad was out of the Army and Mom and Dad returned to Connecticut. There they had a second son, and then a third. Shortly thereafter they moved to Oklahoma for a few years. In my adult life I’ve not met anyone else who moved to Oklahoma. (I have nothing against Oklahoma, but who moves there?) In 1967, which is exactly 50 years ago, they moved to Lancaster. And it was here that they finally settled. Mom and Dad really liked it here, and it was here that they lived happily ever after. Mom’s happiest years were spent in Lancaster.
 
When you remember that Mom grew up without lots of money and surrounded by women it isn’t too surprising that a few decades later Mom volunteered countless hours at Lancaster YWCA. When I was in elementary school I thought Mom worked there. I knew she eventually became President, which seemed to me to be an impressive title, and she seemed to run the place. I’m confident that Mom administered the YWCA in her own quiet loving way, helping young women overcome obstacles in order to help them grow up to be quietly strong, loving, and successful adults. One day when I was still a kid I learned that nobody was paying Mom for all the time she spent working at the YWCA. My undeveloped brain sensed a scam. I think I approached her with great tact, something like “Mom? When you go to work I’m pretty sure they’re supposed to pay you.” Don’t worry, she eventually helped me grow up. After her time with the YWCA was over she began volunteering at St. Joseph’s Hospital. She spent 25 years volunteering there, quietly helping countless patients in times of need, and providing her loving influence where it was needed. Mom developed deep friendships with staff members and fellow volunteers at St. Joe’s.
 
Once in the 1980s my parents were convinced by friends to take a canoeing trip. They loved it more than they had expected and quickly became passionate canoeing enthusiasts. When most people think of a married couple canoeing they probably imagine romantic outings slowly paddling across tranquil ponds. With butterflies and picnic baskets. But that wasn’t Mom and Dad’s approach. Instead, they canoed along raging whitewater rivers, the kind that scare tourists who pay a professional guide to maneuver them in a professional-grade raft. But Mom and Dad weren’t in a raft, they were in a canoe. And there was never a guide, it was just a happily married couple adventurously doing what they loved. Together. Before long they were certified experts in whitewater canoeing, and they traveled all over the US in a Ford van with a canoe on the roof, in search of rivers that were just barely survivable. They made deep and lasting friendships with an extended group of fellow paddlers. And they volunteered to teach canoeing courses to rookies, quietly influencing countless others to become fellow adrenaline junkies. Mom and Dad rarely invested small bits of themselves; being all-in was their nature.
 
Lots of people know my Dad. I think everyone at Landis Homes retirement community knows my dad. He has always been outgoing, social, and filled with energy and charm. But what you might not know about him is that he won the lottery when he was in Kindergarten. Because it was in Kindergarten that my dad met a cute little black-haired girl. That little girl had a quiet and peaceful presence about her. Dad eventually came to realize that Marilyn’s presence was something he needed in his life, and in turn Mom knew that Dad was a perfect match for her. My parents fell in love when they were in high school, and they were barely out of high school when they married. I guess in the 1950s that was common, but when it happens these days I think you get your own reality show. Mom and Dad were married for 62 years. And in their 62 years together they never stopped being romantic and they never stopped laughing together. They had three sons and no daughters, which somehow feels like a gift to the grandfather who I never met. Their three sons grew up absorbing the benefits of having Mom’s quietly strong influence and we will never stop being grateful. I know that when my own brain finally started to mature (so pretty recently) I eventually came to realize that I am who I am in large part because my mom was who she was. I am endlessly thankful for that. Mom often told my brothers and I that she was deeply proud of us. But we will never stop trying to make her proud.
 
I don’t envy my dad now. Somehow he will have to learn how to live without Mom. They say that grief is the price we pay for love, so it won’t be easy for Dad. I know I speak for my brothers when I say that we’re thankful for everyone at Landis Homes. It is a place that is filled with loving and supportive people. That fact will no doubt be critical for Dad as he moves forward. But in their many years together Mom quietly influenced Dad as well, so I know that Dad is well equipped to face life head-on and all-in. Which is yet another reason to be grateful for my mom’s quiet influence.
 
Thank you Mom. I miss you already. I miss your love and support, your humor, and your well-practiced habit of using your quiet influence to make me a better version of myself. I miss everything about you. And I’ll always love you.
Rick Tyrrell