Tony was born in Atlanta, GA, to Coyle Edward Shuler and Bonnie Wilma Dyer. Coyle was the oldest of six brothers and Wilma was the middle child of seven, four sisters and two brothers.
Tony is survived by his wife, Valerie; son, Michael; daughter, Emily Reed (Daniel); and a brother, Larry Shuler.
Growing up, Wilma and her sisters spent a great deal of time together. Tony said one of his aunts had just as soon spanked him as her own child. All of the extended family being together was a large part of Tony’s growing up. These experiences provided many stories that Tony would fondly and often retell with a laugh.
From the time he was three until he and Valerie married, Tony lived in a house on Flamingo Drive in Decatur. Tony attended Laurel Ridge Elementary School and Shamrock High School. Tony’s class was the first class to start 8th grade at Shamrock and graduate from high school in 1972.
After high school Tony had various manual labor jobs. On one of the hot Atlanta days working outside, looking inside the office building he was working on, Tony decided he would rather work inside, so he went to Mercer University of Atlanta.
While going to college, Tony worked at Christian Towers as Night Security. He said it was the best job you can have: He got paid to sleep. He graduated from Mercer University in June 1981 with a bachelor's degree in accounting.
One of Tony’s friends, Chuck Harris, went to the University of Georgia, where he was converted to Christianity through the campus ministry, Soul Talks. When he came home, he converted his sister, Terry. Terry dated Tony’s best friend Fred, and that is how Tony became a Christian. He attended the Soul Talks campus ministry at Decatur Church of Christ.
After he graduated, Tony’s first job was with Handy City. He then worked for Hertz Penske Truck leasing, and later for UPS and Blockbuster.
Tony’s first accounting job was with Paul Towler, a senior executive at Scottdale Mills, who also attended the Decatur Church of Christ. Tony continued in the Soul Talks ministry, where he met Valerie. He and Valerie bowled together in the church bowling league, where Paul and his wife, as well as Tony and Val’s parents also bowled.
Tony and Valerie were married on February 13, 1982, and remained active in the Decatur church. When the church hired a youth minister, Tony became a Huddle leader. Huddle leaders worked with another couple and stayed with the same group of teenagers until they graduated from high school. It was special for Tony to be a part of teenagers’ lives and to see them get married and have children. In 2022, when one of the huddle kids had a grandbaby, Tony said, “Now I feel old.”
While living in Atlanta, the couple started their family. Michael was born in December 1988, and Emily was born in 1994.They attended a revival meeting at the Decatur Church, where a visiting minister from the Providence Road Church of Christ, Jeff Walling, came to speak.
In 1998, they moved to Charlotte and became members of the Providence Road Church. Tony began working for First Union National Bank (which later became Wachovia and then Wells Fargo), where he worked for more than a decade. After leaving the bank, Tony went to work for Wesco Electric Company with Ken Brueshaber, an elder at the Providence Road Church. Tony retired from Wesco in 2019.
Over the years, both Michael and Emily shared their father’s love of sports – and Tony was always there to cheer them on. Besides watching the sports that Michael and Emily played, Tony was an avid golfer. He was an ambassador for 14 years at the PGA’s Wachovia Championship (later the Wells Fargo Championship) from the time it started till 2018. Last fall he joined a golf league in Ft. Mill, where he played every Tuesday, and on Wednesday’s played with other friends.
In December 2015, Tony was diagnosed with cancer, thus beginning his six and a half year battle with cancer. Despite his health challenges, he remained active. He and Valerie made several beach trips with friends which were always special, and also attended concerts and family gatherings. During that time, Tony was so proud to be able to attend Emily’s graduation ceremonies from Lipscomb University, and to be the father of the bride at her wedding, where he said his job was to make her look beautiful.
To honor Tony’s commitment to young people and their faith development, donations can be made in his memory to an endowment at Providence Road Church of Christ called Next Generation.
A Memorial Service will be held Saturday, August 20, 2022, 1 PM at Providence Road Church of Christ, 4900 Providence Rd., Charlotte, NC 28226.
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