Personal Tributes & Reminiscences
Aletha Rogers: I worked for Tyler in the early 90's for about three years. He was always fair and honest with me. He treated all his "pickers" fair-- and they brought us some crazy stuff. Tyler was so creative and such a perfectionist. He trusted me with everything. Running the china business, the vintage jeans business worldwide, transforming the depot in Goldthwaite, and building the house at Star really kept us busy.
I was very sad to hear how lonely Tyler was [after Teresa's death] and how hard he fought. He had remade himself many times, but the last costume change, he just couldn't pull it off. I miss him everyday. He was kind to white people and most Mexicans. He was a dreamer and a dream maker.
Sharon Dalby: for teresa, i am sorry i have not written on your site sooner, as i don't know what to say, or how to put it into words what i feel, and continue to feel.............i am sure that everyone feels the same, or more would have been written.....................
for teresa, i didn't get the priviledge of knowing you, long enough, to share in all the good and great things that you stood for and what you did for all of the cowgirls and just plain ole women..............as myself.
i knew of you for a long long time, before i finally got to meet you, and then my time with you was cut way too short. your time, was cut way too short, but yet you did so much, i was saddened then, and i am still sad...............
i was so excited when that day came that you stepped out of the car, you and babydoll and tyler ............i was so excited that i finally got to meet and see you in person. i felt so priviledged. i was scared, i was nervous, i was happy, i was elated, i was honored that you walked through my door. my door, my door.........that i have decorated around your thinking or mine?? as i was so influenced by you dreams, or mine?? either way, our mindset was truly close, but.............not truly close enough to know you soon enough to stop you from ending your life or resetting it..............as i sit here tonight at my computer and as i have set here many nights before thinking of what to say about you, as i think, i so wish that i would have known you longer, more, maybe? just maybe?? just simply that, to have known you longer......................to have changed or rewritten history, to help you, to influence you, to listen to you, to talk to you, to talk with you, to listen more, to just sit and drink wine with you, either way, i just truly miss you. i miss your talk, i miss your voice, i miss your laughter, i miss your ideas...............i love the memory us sitting with our barefeet in the river, so wonderful, so uncaring, so unknowing of what the future held.......................i miss you for all you stood for, even if it was a short life, it was mighty, and you were powerful and i thank you..............i thank you so much, teresa beard.
your pal, sharon dalby
Sharon Dalby: for tyler, i have to say dammit, dammit, dammit, why can't you both still be here, life is truly not fair, as you both are such prime examples.............
and i have to say that i am saddened that not more people, more friends, have not expressed their hearts on both of yall's website.........
i know that they feel the way i do.............. i know how very hard it is to put your heart into writing, your heart into words, and that it is truly a loss to not have you both here. life goes on, and as we lose more of our friends, we learn the fragility of life, we miss you two more and more. i see you around our home in our decorating, in all the boots, in the last things that we have shared, in the buying that we bought together.....in our buying now and selling, in all the adventures, in all the beauty............in all we do, and in just everyday life, we say.....tyler would have loved that.......tyler would have loved that, tyler would have loved that...................
i just want to say how much that with your passing, without not getting to spend more time with us here in south texas, it is a shame and that life is way too short, for those in which we care about. i knew you both too short of a period of time, but yet so wonderful in those few days................i feel so cheated, but yet so blessed, so very blessed..................thank you for being tyler and teresa. thank you for being our friends........................deep in the heart of texas you remain.....................you both still shine, big and bright!!!
your pal, sharon dalby
Jack and Diana Gotcher: We met Tyler in the summer of 1997 when we heard that he had some log cabins for sale. We set up a meeting in Goldwaithe and took off with him. After a really long day of following Tyler in a cloud of dust down miles of county dirt roads in what felt like a maze, we ended up at the ranch to look at one last cabin that he actually had stored on the property. Afterwards he invited us into his home where we met Teresa. We struck a deal on the three cabins and a rock schoolhouse to boot. What a great day that was. It would forever change our lives. Those log cabins and schoolhouse became our home – Tyler and Teresa became our friends. We had some of the most fun times in our lives visiting each others homes, taking trips,going to auctions, trading with each other and playing with Baby Doll (The best pup in the world as Tyler always said ) Tyler made a visit to see us in November before he went on his trip to Africa with his sister and brother-in-law. He had us pulling up Real Estate in Mason, Texas. He said that he could see himself living in a one room cabin with just a rocker on the front porch. We actually found a place that looked like it might fit that description – Just wasn’t meant to be. Losing all three of them in a short two and a half years has been so hard, but knowing them was so good. We Love Yall !
The Colleys - Don, Sue Ellen, and Cody: We had not known Tyler for long but we had been inspired by him for many years. We began "collecting" western in the early 1990's, and everywhere you looked you saw Tyler and Teresa in magazine after magazine and book after book. They did more for making western in vogue than anyone ever has or ever will.
Imagine my surprise and delight when one day I opened my front door to Tyler and his sister wanting to see my house which was for sale. I can't tell you exactly how long they stayed that day but I can tell you it was a real highlight and treat for me. They were so kind and gracious, and for the last couple of years Tyler would respond to every note sent his way and would send me a magazine or article that he thought we would enjoy. It is that genuine thoughtfulness which makes him so very special to so many and why he will be missed so much.
To his family, I hope knowing how many lives he touched will lighten your hearts, and to Tyler.. thank you. I wish you and Teresa castles in the air. We will miss you.
Bryant Dalby: I will always have a fondness for the letter T. T for Texas. T for Tyler and Teresa. Tyler and Teresa. Tyler and Teresa. Those words just go together. Like salt and pepper. Bread and butter. Some words are forever linked. Such is the case with them.
I have been reluctant to gather my thoughts about Tyler’s death because by doing so I am acknowledging it, and have not wanted to do that.
Sharon and I came to know them late in life. I had met them in the 80’s at the City Wide Garage Sale in Austin. I sold Tyler a Pendleton blanket and then he and I watched Teresa hold her own in a heated argument with Charlie Price. Over the next ten years or so, I spoke with Tyler a few times over the phone professionally, but except for that, I only heard the stories that floated around Texas of their many exploits. Tyler and Teresa did this. Tyler and Teresa did that. They were famous. How do you get famous buying and selling vintage goods? I don’t know, but they did and they were. They were kind to people and treated people fairly. They showed the same respect to “pickers” that sold them used cowboy boots, as they did to wealthy professionals.
They used these people skills to do the research needed for Tyler to write his books and there came even more success and quiet fame.
When Tyler began talking about doing the Lone Star Living book, Evan Voyles, a mutual friend of ours and T & T, told Tyler he should come to see us. They did come and through that experience we all became friends. Even our old blue heeler August, and their elderly dog Baby Doll, became geriatric lovers of sorts.
Unfortunately, after this period of friendship which we all enjoyed, Teresa’s darkness came over her and she was gone so quickly. Poor Tyler was lost. Although most things in his life he could let go of as easy as he acquired them, the same was not true of Teresa and their 30 plus years love affair.
He literally roamed the world looking for some meaning, some happiness, but he could not find it. But…..he was not a quitter. Even with the tragic lost of Teresa and Baby Doll and all the health problems he had suffered, he still looked ahead. He came and stayed with us a couple of days in November just before he went to South Africa. We went shopping for RV’s. He was thinking of buying a new truck and travel trailer and roaming the US. He was still lost but refused to give up.
Finally fate or some greater power stepped in. He was rejoined with Teresa and I believe it was a merciful death. He lived an artist’s life and he died an artist’s death, which I
think must please him. I am so glad that he had come home to Texas. We still wore our boots and hats. We still drank whisky. We loved our animals and the outdoors. Even in our 50’s, we were still playing cowboy! I will miss that. I will miss them both, but I am glad they are together. T for Tyler and Teresa! T for together.
May you both rest in peace……….Bryant Dalby
P.S. Please listen to Lyle Lovett sing the Towns Van Zandt song “Flying Shoes”. It is so sad, yet beautiful and makes me think how Tyler must have felt in the last period of his life.
P.P.S. Tyler was great at sending notes and postcards, especially when he traveled. But to have been a writer, he had the worst penmanship imaginable. A postcard from him was like a secret coded message and sometimes took us two or three days to decipher. Sharon and I will surely miss that challenge.
Kate Mallen (Portsmouth, NH) : I met Tyler and Teresa when they first arrived in Portsmouth in the late 1970’s. Here are some “I remembers” about them.
I remember that Tyler was called just “Barry” when they lived in NH– he legally had no last name. We were all fascinated.
I remember how Barry changed hair styling/cutting forever and his changes are still evident today in the number of great hair salons in Portsmouth & the seacoast area.
I remember that there were no bubble dryers at 210 and that 210 was the number of the building he owned where the salon was. We were all fascinated.
I remember traffic and pedestrians coming to a standstill when Barry & Teresa walked down Market Street and through Market Square in Portsmouth, especially when they had their afghan hound with them. Here was this long tall gorgeous Texan with his equally gorgeous wife and their Afghan hound who had some purple tufts on his head to match Barry’s. We were all fascinated.
I remember the first time I ever saw Teresa. She was walking down Market Street and the sun was shining on her beautiful hair. She had bangs, hair to her shoulders and a henna rinse. I remember she had a denim jacket with the collar turned up and a long gorgeous flowing skirt with flat shoes. I remember her beautiful face. I was fascinated.
I remember that I’d never seen a woman dressed up with a denim jacket too and that I’d never seen a woman with the collar turned up.
I remember that when I saw Teresa dressed like that, I ran out and bought a denim jacket and a long flowing skirt and flat shoes. I wore the jacket with the collar turned up.
I remember that my sisters and all my friends ran out and bought denim jackets and long flowing skirts and flat shoes just like Teresa. And they all wore the collar tuned up. We were fascinated.
I remember suppers at Barry & Teresa’s home in Center Barnstead; the wonderful potpourri and herb scents and Texas-style furniture in their quaint New Hampshire country home. Teresa made the food from scratch.
I remember Barry speeding in his black pick-up truck through the seacoast and then on his way home from Portsmouth to rural C. Barnstead after work. All the local and state police knew who he was. They were fascinated.
I remember having a final supper at my home with Barry & Teresa on the night before they returned to Texas.
After Barry lost his beloved Teresa, he asked me to visit him in Santa Fe and I kept saying I would, next spring, next fall, etc. I never dreamed that he wouldn’t be with us forever.
I am glad that Tyler is at peace and I know there is some kind of an afterlife and I know they are together again. After Teresa’s passing, each time I traveled to Ireland, I lit big fat white bees wax candles for her in every Catholic Church I came across. Now I will be lighting two candles in their honor in every Church for the rest of my life. Tyler and I shared a love of Ireland (I’m first generation Irish American) and misty cool windy weather. I used to say we were genetically engineered to be cutting turf in a bog in the wind and rain and I’m sorry he never got to build his stone house in Scotland. I am sad and disappointed that they are both gone, I miss those two brilliant shining stars. They entertained me for 30 years. God rest their precious souls and may they forever rest in peace.
Brigitte Woosley: I first met Tyler and Teresa through my neighbors, Bryant and Sharon Dalby. We visited and were sociable but not too close. It wasn't until after Teresa passed away that I got to know Tyler for the gentle, considerate, loving and charismatic person that he was. He'd come over to the studio and we sit and talk art, boots, dogs, longhorns, Buddha, music, movies (we both agreed that "All the Little Animals' was a truly wonderful and woefully unrecognised film) the west, and wide, wide spaces for hours on end. He took me out for my birthday once, we both got all gussied up in our western finery, I walk in, he says I look great, I say, you look better. And he did, great hair, great shirt. He helped me wash my big dog, I held him when he got to hurting, we'd laugh and cuss and I always figured I'd get to have another endless conversation, or another charming letter, or a gentle smile or a sly grin. Guess if nothing else his passing teaches me to love and appreciate all the goodness when I've got it and I'm glad he and I got to have our goodness when we did. I miss him.
Brigitte Woosley Western and Wildlife Art: www.bwoosley.net
Jayne Messer*: Tyler (better known to me as Barry) — I am personally saddened by his untimely passing and my sympathy goes out to all of you who were so very close to him all through the years. Although I had not seen Barry in many many years, I was not surprised to learn of his great success; it was to be his destiny. I remember meeting him at our house on Lanshire (Flagpole Hill Party House) and was immediately taken by his innocent, fresh, creative, and maverick spirit. Barry, Jack, Brian, David and you all were part of an innovation fostered by a sort of an enamoring with Joe, Gary, Gene and the like. With the inception of Max Pagent, Barry was part of the family. I watched him flourish and grow in ways the rest of us could not. He was just so special. I only knew of Teresa, but from what I gather, they had a love affair and bond most could only hope for. Today, they are once again united in the after life and experiencing that love beyond what we here can even imagine. For me, his memory will always be in satin.....
*Better known to some by her former name, Jayne Kennedy.
Sharon Dalby: T AND T LIVE FOREVER— THIS WILL NOT BE THE LAST THAT I PROBABLY WILL WRITE FOR THESE TWO, I MET THEM TOO LATE IN LIFE, I DIDN'T GET TO SPEND AS MUCH TIME I SHOULD HAVE OR WOULD HAVE WITH THESE TWO, AND I AM SO SORRY, I LOVE THEM BOTH, AND I WILL LOVE THEM FOREVER.
YOUR COWGAL PAL, SHARON DALBY.......ALIAS, SHARON WRIGHT IN THE LONE STAR LIVING BOOK
Gary Myrick: I was 18 years old and remember Barry Beard, later to become Tyler, coming over with his girlfriend to my house. It was our bonding in the '70s Texas GLAM ROCK ART SCENE of Dallas. We were wild children, ringleaders determined to rebel against the redneck culture we grew up in— GLAM PUNKS in the truest sense. This was my first memory of Tyler. He brought me a short black coat his girlfriend had made me. I loved it, and we bonded forever. We had many insane adventures in Dallas during that period while discovering films, music, fashion, sex, drugs, & rocknroll with our underground group of friends. Tyler was special. Tyler was an art soul with taste and a great abstract sense of humor. We laughed into oblivion from then until his passing in Dec.— always bonded as friends with similar points of view. We even loved some of the same women. Dallas had some beauties back then and Tyler was great at introducing a new girl into the art crowd of that era.
Tyler and Teresa had visited my wife and I over the last 5 years in California, and we had all taken a trip up the coast together. I don't think Tyler could get over the shock of the nightmare of Teresa's suicide a few years back. It was a sad exit that Tyler seemed to not know was coming. It's impossible to totally recover from something like that.
Tyler, even though plagued with health problems over the last 11 years, was still the curious artman he had always been, traveling and staying true to his love of rocknroll, art, craftsmanship, old world culture, and the beauty and strange humor of the universe around him. I was in Dallas, playing a gig in December, and we had talked extensively on the phone regarding hanging out and his future plans. He invited me to stay at his new 1920s home in Oak Cliff, but I had a room at the Hilton and felt it would be easier. I wish I had stayed at his house, but who could know it was his last week on earth. He sent me a sweet letter that next week, when I was back in California, and a few days later he was gone. I am deeply saddened and will never forget him and his friendship and comradery. It ment everything to me. Tyler, I love you brother. Forever. Thanks for coming into this world and letting me cross your path. You are a great soul. I hope and pray for this message of friendship and love to somehow reach you. God Bless You on your journey my ol' friend.
With Love Eternal, Sincerely, Your Pal, Gary Myrick
www.garymyrick.com myspace.com/garymyrick
Gene Fowler's entry has been moved to its own page.
• Click here to read Gene's "The Legend of Tyler Beard" •
Allen Stovall: To write everything I remember about Tyler and Teresa would require several pages, but I will start by saying that Tyler was a steadfast friend during my own ordeal of cancer treatment. He sent me cards containing words of encouragement every day for a month, as well as books to read and music to help the healing process. He had an amazing talent for building an "empire" (helped by Teresa, of course) and then divesting himself of all his possessions so he could feel the incomparable lightness of being unencumbered. This website is my personal tribute to him (still better known as Barry to me), as well as Teresa, whom I knew almost as many years. I hope others will want to contribute to this project, and make it a living memorial to T & T.
share your photos, stories, etc. • e-mail submissions to: • lalightworks@sbcglobal.net