Tyler Andrew Woods

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Robert A. Guffin Funeral Home
(Disclaimer: In the third stanzas of the beautiful "Precious Child" song you are listening to, has a phrase "... MAYBE there's a Heaven ..." The Scriptures are very clear that there IS "a Heaven!"

Mother

Father

I want to start by telling you a story about Tyler when he was about two years old. He and I had just moved into a small, two story apartment in West Berne. It was morning and I had gotten up before him and stared unpacking stuff. I could hear him get up, shuffle his feet down the hallway, and come downstairs. I looked at him and said, "Good morning Honey, how did you sleep?" He, in all seriousness, put his hands on his hips, and replied, "Mommy, I sleep in my bed!" I giggled a little and simply told him, "Well, I guess that would be a good way to sleep."

I want to share with you what Tyler and I talked about before his passing. My goal was to stay positive and give him something to look forward to, if indeed he would get to go to Heaven before me.

First, we talked about a place to live. "In my Father's house are many mansions, ... I go to prepare a place for you." With this I told him it's not right that he will have a nicer house than me. I'm stuck with an old house that needs repair and he would have a house that will never fall apart.

We talked about food. There are trees with never ending fruit, maybe even fruit we have never seen before. How everything he would eat, I would imagine, would be the most delicious thing he has every had.

We talked about the streets of gold. You know the song, "Walking down the streets of solid gold. In that land where we never grow old."

We talked about sickness. I reminded him he would be 100% healed. he would probably even feel better than even when he was healthy.

We talked about meeting Jesus, and family, and even people we don't know, and other kids his age, some older, some younger to play with. I told him some about my Mother, Grandmother, and Aunt Sharon. He told me about meeting Abraham Lincoln, his favorite President.

We lastly talked about the River of Life. How he could go swimming there and stay under water for hours if he wanted to without taking a breath, and then I imagined him getting out of the water and being dry.

With this being said, I told him I would be jealous that he would get to enjoy all this before me, and really how lucky he is to have this great opportunity before the rest of us.

In the bulletin you will see a quote by Abraham Lincoln that fits Tyler perfectly. "I walk slowly, but I never walk backwards." This is so true of Tyler, he simply kept going forward and kept up a good fight until the very end, and this is something for us to do also - just keep going forward in our daily lives, and never give up until the very end.

In closing, I want to ask Tyler one last time, "How did you sleep son?" This is the way I thing he would reply. SLEEP! I'm having too much fun to sleep. After I met Jesus, I met up with Grandma and many other family members, way more than you ever mentioned.

We all went together and checked out my house. Mom, sorry I have to tell ya this, but it's nicer than yours. I met up with some other kids and we've been playing, and swimming, and having a good time hanging out. I've been eating like a pig, and Oh, guess what! Tomorrow I'm meeting Abraham Lincoln!

Don't worry about me, I'm in good hands with our Lord and family, and I'm having lots of fun.

As I reflect on the 14 years that I was privileged to be Tyler’s father, I think back over his childhood with lots of great memories. Tyler had a laid back personality and was basically an easy child to raise. Here are a few memories that I have of my son…

When he was around 2, we used to go outside after it rained and jump in the water puddles. This usually turned into rolling in the water and then of course the mud.

On the 4th of July when Tyler was also 2, we went with some friends to the plaza in Albany to watch the fireworks. He hated the noise and would cover his ears but he loved the display in the sky. He would point with a huge smile. Tyler had his own fireworks that night when our friend's daughter Sabrina, gave him his first kiss!

I knew Tyler was going to be a fun child when his sarcasm and pranks started at a very young age. When at a babysitters, he removed all of her videos from the cases and placed them in different cases. She told me that she was still finding mixed up videos for months!

When Tyler started pre-school and elementary, I learned what his acting career was going to be like. His first performance was dramatic….he got on stage and started crying and crying, so I had to go rescue him. The next year’s performance was much different….he was a showoff. He danced and flirted on stage.

Tyler was not afraid to try new things most of the time. He started going to a kid’s camp for a week without parents when he was about 7 or 8. One week he ventured to try riding four wheelers at camp and ended up breaking his foot but that did not stop him from going back to the camp and doing it again the next year.

He spent many years going to Camp Northfield which was a Christian camp. He said he wanted to be a counselor there when he got older. This past summer Tyler went to a camp not far from here for children with disabilities or serious illnesses called Double H Hole in the Woods. He had a blast! The campers got to go on a day trip to Great Escape during the week. He tried a roller coaster for the first time and loved it!

Tyler really enjoyed going fast which resulted in the Woods Family Fathers Day Competition at the go cart track. Grandpa Woods, Uncle Dave, Uncle Geo, Tyler and I would gather at a local track and race our hearts out. Grandpa Woods always told Tyler that he cheated but that is because Grandpa was not as good a driver as Tyler. Tyler was ruthless behind the wheel and would not let any one pass him. He would spin you out if you got too close. I figured he would make a great NASCAR driver when he was older.

Tyler was a huge NASCAR fan. His favorite driver was Dale Earnhardt Junior and he routed for him no matter how good or bad he was. After Tyler was diagnosed with cancer, the Make A Wish Foundation found out about his love of NASCAR and arranged for us to go to Phoenix Arizona to a NASCAR race. The highlight of the trip was meeting and talking with Dale Jr. This was a dream of Tyler’s that did come true for him this past April.

Tyler and I took a trip to Tennessee when he was about 11. We had a true road trip and drove the 12 hours to get there. We stayed at an old train station that was converted into a hotel. It had an amazing pool that Tyler loved and made new friends each day while swimming. Out in the courtyard, there were several fish ponds with tons of goldfish. We were sitting by the pond watching the fish one day and Tyler said “Dad, I want to take a fish back with me.” I asked “why” and he responded by saying “Rebecca’s fish had died before we left and I want to bring one back for her”.

In October of 2008, Tyler was diagnosed with cancer. When he was presented with the treatments and all that was to come, he never complained. Tyler had scan after scan, lots of hospital visits, many nurses and doctors, needles, blood work, and surgery. He just went with the flow and did what he needed to do. At one time, he asked the doctor if he could see the picture of his tumor because he wanted to have a talk with it! Tyler was determined to beat the cancer. Even last week, he told his mom that he was going to catch up in his school work this week. I am extremely proud of Tyler and told him that several times. He was a very tough boy, who fought right to the end. He did not lose the battle but ended up winning by being in heaven with God.

My comfort is that I know Tyler is healed with no more pain and that I will see him again someday.