ROGER TYLER

Wasilla resident Roger Dean Tyler, 63, died Aug. 16, 2002, at home, following a long battle with cancer.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Valley Funeral Home, 151 E. Herning Avenue, in Wasilla, with Norris Caraway of the Springbrook Drive Church of Christ in Eagle River officiating. A Celebration of Life ceremony will follow at the home of his mother, Dorothy Agen, in Wasilla. Private family interment of Mr. Tyler's ashes will be at Wasilla Aurora Cemetery.

Mr. Tyler was born May 6, 1939, in Nevada, Iowa. He graduated from the USAF High School in London, England, and attended dental technician school in Des Moines, Iowa. He came to Alaska in 1991.

He owned a dental lab in Phoenix, Ariz., from 1970 to 1990, prior to his residency in Alaska, and he had worked at a dental lab in Anchorage. He was a licensed realtor in the Mat-Su Valley.

He was a West Coast and Swing dance instructor. Another interest was stained glass, and he was an auto racing enthusiast.

His family said, "He was a kind and gentle man with a wonderful sense of humor. He enjoyed people and loved his place of residence, Alaska.

He was preceded in death by his father, Lawrence Tyler; brother, Frank Tyler; and son, Kurt Tyler.

Survivors are a daughter, Kim Kallmann; granddaughter, Kallie Kallmann; grandson, Zachary Mills; three other grandchildren (one girl and two boys); mother, Dorothy Agen; sister, Dee Prescott; and significant other, Phyllis Shafer.

Memorial donations may be made to Hospice of Mat-Su, 3051 E. Palmer-Wasilla Highway, Wasilla AK 99654, or American Cancer Society, 1057 W. Fireweed Lane, Suite 204, Anchorage AK 99503.