Larry Tyler, 60, loved to help others

LARRY WILLIAM Tyler Sr. had a simple motto: "If you can't be part of the solution, don't be part of the problem."

Maybe that's not original, but it worked for Larry Tyler in his many years of dealing with kids and adults alike who had a tendency to be part of a problem.

"He loved helping people," said his son, Larry Tyler Jr. "He liked to show them the right way to live."

Larry Tyler Sr., who worked with paroled prisoners at a halfway house and served as dean of discipline at three public schools, died Wednesday of liver disease. He was 60 and lived in West Oak Lane.

Tyler was a dedicated Mason and Shriner and enjoyed marching in parades in his colorful Shriner costume, complete with fez.

He also "lived and died with the Eagles," his son said.

Larry was born in Philadelphia to Wilbur and Audrey Boone. He graduated from Ben Franklin High School, and attended Cheyney State University and Community College of Philadelphia before receiving his bachelor's degree from Thomas Edison State College, in Trenton.

His work life actually began at age 11, when he started delivering papers for the old Evening Bulletin.

Larry worked as a counselor at two city playgrounds, Francisville, at Shirley and Francis streets, and Mander, at 33rd and Diamond streets.

He worked with the kids, opened the pools, set up camp programs and games, and handled other duties related to showing the kids a good and educational time.

After about 10 years, he joined the state Department of Corrections, and became a counselor at the youth prison in Cornwells Heights and a halfway house at 7th and Spring Garden streets, where he worked with prisoners on parole and those transferred by the courts.

He retired in 2004, and joined the Philadelphia School District serving as a discipline dean at the Alexander Wilson and Pennypack elementary schools, and at Strawberry Mansion Junior High.

"He had a way of turning a bad situation around," his son said. "He could see both sides of the fence. He was a cool dude."

Larry started dating his future wife, Charlotte Colbert, in high school. He was her escort at proms and other school events. They stayed together for 35 years. They married in 1973. She died in 2000.

Besides his son, he is survived by another son, Lamar Timothy Tyler; four sisters, Fontella Boone, Velvalea Sullivan, Bernadette Boone and Rhondell Warfield; two brothers, Sharoff Tyler and Gary Williams; and three grandchildren.

Services: 11 a.m. Thursday at Triumph Baptist Church, 1648 W. Hunting Park Ave. Friends may call at 9 a.m. Masonic service 10:30 a.m. Burial will be in Ivy Hill Cemetery, Woolston Avenue and Easton Road.