Wat Henry Tyler

Wat Henry Tyler, 78, businessman and philanthropist, died on May 20, 2016 at his home in Brookline, MA. Wat was the oldest child of Priscilla Delano and Wat Henry Tyler, Sr. He was born in Boston on September 9, 1937 and spent most of his life living in Massachusetts. He attended Meadowbrook and Fessenden Schools, prior to graduating from Exeter Academy in Exeter, NH. He attended Harvard University graduating Magna Cum Laude in 1960. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and traveled extensively in Latin America prior to returning to Cambridge to complete his MBA at the Harvard Business School (HBS), Class of ‘64. After HBS, he worked for McKinsey & Company for 10 years becoming Director before leaving to pursue his own business opportunities.

In 1984, Wat bought IPS Corporation, a manufacturer of Adhesives and Construction Components. Over the next twenty plus years with Wat as CEO, the company grew over twenty-five fold, expanded into many new fields with five domestic plants employing several hundred people and doing business in dozens of countries. In 1984, he also married Jane Arneth Tyler in Old Lyme Connecticut. They moved to Boston in 1986, and all was well until 1994, when his liver failed from an old bout of infectious hepatitis B contracted in Spain in 1964. He received a liver transplant at Mass General Hospital in February 1994.

After that fateful time in 1994, he went on to acquire seven more companies and started one new venture business. In 2004, he sold the majority position in the company and pursued his lifelong love of playing golf and giving back to his favorite organizations. Over the past several months, his health was in decline with several hospitalizations. He was placed under hospice care at home two weeks before his death. During this time he remained patient and loving, the consummate gentleman as he soldiered through with that wonderful twinkle in his eye. His family feels blessed and is grateful to Massachusetts General Hospital Transplant Center for the last 22 years.

Wat served as Vice Chair of the Handel & Haydn (H+H) Society Board of Governors, having served for nearly 20 years and chaired the Development Committee. He was an original founder of H+H’s “Instrumental Voices Capital Campaign,” a landmark effort that has transformed the organization’s capacity to fulfill its mission. In addition, he served on the board of the Atlantic Classical Orchestra in Vero Beach, FL, where he recently played a vital role in their search for a new Music Director. Wat further served on the board of the Boston Lyric Opera and the Riverside Theatre in Vero Beach, Florida. He was one of the founding members of the Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Fellowship at Harvard University and served on its board for many years. Wat was a Trustee of the Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary, and he also was a member of the National Council of McLean Hospital; the Ralph Lowell Society of WGBH - Boston Public Radio; the Young President’s Organization (YPO), a global network of young Chief Executive Officers; the Fly Club at Harvard University where he served in several leadership roles; and the Nantucket Historical Association. He also served on the selection committee of the Distinguished Lecture Series in Vero Beach Florida. Wat loved music, art, beautiful gardens, and his two golden retrievers, Cashew and Nugget.

Wat is survived by his wife, Jane Arneth Tyler of Brookline, MA; his daughters Mary Tyler Johnson of Telluride and Cecily Weldon Tyler of Cambridge, MA; and his sons Wat Henry Tyler of Charlestown, MA and John Poyntz Tyler of Boston, MA. He is also survived by his sister Grace Tyler Alexander; his brother–in-law, Frank Lyon Alexander of Charlottesville, VA; his daughter–in-law, Britten Hartnett Tyler of Charlestown, MA; his son–in-law, Jesse Denny Johnson; and his two grandchildren, Reeve Clark Johnson and Morgan Tyler Johnson of Telluride, CO.

His memorial service will be held on Friday, June 10 at 1:00 p.m. at Trinity Church located at 206 Clarendon Street, Boston. Reception will follow at the Somerset Club located at 42 Beacon Street, Boston. Interment of his ashes will be at Yeocomico Church in Kinsale, VA in October. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made in his name to: the Handel & Haydn Society (www.handelandhaydn.org/support) or the Massachusetts General Hospital Transplant Center (https://secure.massgeneral.org/transplant-centre).