A. Raymond Tye was a great man - he was also my loving uncle. I spent a fair amount of time with him on the Cape during our summer vacations, and when he would visit Vermont in the fall to celebrate my aunt's and mother's birthdays. He was quiet, wise, and so very kind. I was able to drive him around the bay that he lived on in his little boat during those summer breaks, and he really enjoyed those rides. He would tell me to "open it up", and then I would go as fast as I dared, and he enjoyed feeling the wind whip by. These rides were private rides, just me and him, and anything that we talked about stayed on the boat. We were both honest, we both discussed things we probably normally wouldn't were we on land and with other people, and above all, he wanted me to be happy, and he was willing to help in any way to make that possible.
His illness took a toll on him in the last couple of months, but the last time I saw him, he still had that twinkle in his eyes, the same one that I would see every summer. I think he knew that that was our goodbye, based on how he was looking at me. I'm glad I had the chance to see him, and I am terribly saddened that he's gone, but trying hard to take the Irish point of view, celebrating all the good that he has done instead of lamenting the fact that he's gone. And there are many things to celebrate.
I bought the Boston Globe today and was pleased to see that he made the front page - not too surprised, he knew many people in the city and made quite an impact, even if he didn't want to take any accolades for it.
Boston Globe Obituary
I love you, Uncle Ray.
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