Welcome to the John Tyler Dell’Angelo Memorial
Artist: Diane Mandracchia. She chose chalk to show how bright he was while having tremedous inner sadness.
3/23/98-4/24/17
Artist: Diane Mandracchia. She chose chalk to show how bright he was while having tremedous inner sadness.
3/23/98-4/24/17
John Tyler was an impressive person. He was caring, handsome, driven, funny, adventurous, geeky, honorable, respectful, the smartest person that I have ever met and just an all around good person.
You will find pictures and stories of John Tyler here. They are here for you to remember him.
Tyler traveled quite a bit for someone his age. He had been to NY, Fla, Bahamas, Grand Cayman, Turks and Caicos and the Grand Canyon with family. He traveled to Nicaragua with a church group to build housing. He went to Southern California with friends from college. He even spent a week in the USNA, and a week in Washington DC.
Tyler was very close with his family. He is our hero that we are all so proud of. He was the first born of his generation from both his mother’s and father’s families. This made him by default kind of everyone’s boy. Everyone took him places because he was the only child in the family. He always loved to talk about the time Uncle Paulie got him on the Howard Stern show. When he was young his parents worked a lot so he spent a lot of time with Mom-mom, who he was very close to. Aunt Tabby was always taking him to do something. He also spent time with Aunt Lala in NYC. He and his Uncle Marco spent many hours gaming together as well.
Tyler was one of those people that took a little time to warm up, but once he did you couldn’t not love him. His friends from college say that if it wasn’t for him they wouldn’t have the friends that they have. He was adventurous, witty, fun and always laughing. He drove a friend, who couldn’t drive due to a medical condition, to work whenever he could. He stuck up for friends that were bullied. His friends love and respect him.
This body of drawings was inspired by the death of John Dell’Angelo, a friend, to suicide in 2017. It focuses on the things we leave behind when we die, including possessions, memories, and our bodies. Through the chaotic and overlapping use of different materials, I convey the shifting, uncertain nature of fading memories and the chaos and incomprehensibility of death. The Rubik’s Cube that frequently appears serves as a symbol for the distractions we seek from a life of suffering. It is also used to explore the nature of our possessions as legacy. My goal with this project is to remind the viewer of our limited time, to encourage them to treasure their friends, living and dead, and to express the emotion I still feel surrounding my friend’s death. Enjoy.
A good read for anyone dealing with a loss on a birthday.
Click here for a mission statement on changing the narrative associated with mental illness.
He wanted to build a the ultimate gaming computer.
Once he received all of the parts to build this computer he didn't have the tower yet. No surprise to anyone who knew him, he couldn't wait. He built the computer in a box and used it this way for a while until he got the tower.
Once his computer was built he had to bring it to a computer store to have an operating system downloaded to it. Because he built it in a box on the "Description/Brand/Model" line the only thing they could write was PC in Cardboard Box. He thought this was hilarious.
During his junior year of high school Tyler got into some trouble. There was a student who had been giving him a hard time for years. When we asked him about it he just said that the kid just didn't like him and he wasn't really bothered by it. Then one day Tyler decided to ask this kid to the prom in front of a bunch of people. The kid went home and said that he was publicly humiliated. The end result was that the school took it very seriously. Tyler thought that it was just a way to show someone who didn't like him very much that he didn't care. It was a mistake on Tyler's part. He was dropped from National Honors Society, he was demoted in JROTC which had lasting effects into his senior year and he spent the weeks leading up to his AP exams in, In School Suspension.
What we found out at his memorial service blew us away. A girl came up to us and said that she had been bullied for years at school. She said that one day she was talking with Tyler and told him that she just couldn't take it anymore. She said that he told her not to worry, he would take care of it. This was the day he embarrassed that boy. That kid was the one bullying her. While Tyler was having so many of the things that he worked so hard for taken away from him he never said anything. He never said anything so that he wouldn't drag her into anything and further protect her.
The day of Tyler's memorial service the father of one of his college friends told me something that made me so proud. He said that the first time he het Tyler he shook his hand and looked into his eyes. He said that he instantly knew that if his daughter was with Tyler that she would be ok. He said that when she would call home and tell him what she would be doing, if she said that she would be with Tyler then he would feel relief that she would be ok.
As a father, for someone to make you feel comfortable that your daughter would be ok as long as they were with this person is almost impossible to find. This is the ultimate compliment that a father could give to another human being.
While Tyler truly was a great person he did have this one issue with transportation of all kinds. He totaled his first truck. With his second truck he hit a few deer and rear ended someone. He then totaled my car. Shortly after I got a new car he backed into that in the driveway. He bought a 1976 Pontiac grand prix to restore that he drove twice before it died. (I will continue it's restoration for him). Then when he went away to college with only a bicycle, we thought he'd be ok. His first bike got stolen from campus the first or second week of school. He then got a unicycle. He broke his wrist riding that. He did get a new bike, and undeterred by his transportation issues, rode that bike 50 miles through Arizona to get a longboard. At some point while riding the longboard the front wheels fell off. His second bike then got stolen just before the end of his first semester. On his way back to school after winter break his flight was delayed. He did get yet another bike that we now have. With all of his transportation issues, whenever possible he still made sure to provide rides to and from work for a friend of his that has a medical condition that prevents him from being able to drive. We all, including him got some good laughs about him being transportationally challenged. I love and miss you buddy.
I knew John throughout middle and high school at Delsea. One story that I always remember when I think about John is from a 7th grade english class that we had together. I had probably only known him for a few months at that point, not great but well enough that we sat next to each other and would talk during class. One morning, an assignment was due that I can’t remember the specifics of what it was about, but the general idea is that we were supposed to have some sort of picture drawn onto a piece of paper that we would hold up and show the class and talk about for a minute. John forgot about the project and came in empty handed, so he asked me for a blank piece of paper before it was his turn to speak and brought up the paper with him. With complete confidence as a middle schooler, he probably talked for 3 minutes straight on the importance and meaning behind his blank piece of paper while the rest of us struggled to talk about our planned pictures for a minute. The teacher just let him talk and talk and he got a perfect score for the project. John was probably busy doing something much more important with his time, even back then. He was on a different level than most of us. Such a terrible loss and I wish you and your family the best.
So this is what I can remember of the night at buffalo wild wings with John " A pretty large group of kids from high school decided we'd all meet up at buffalo wild wings for dinner, but especially because a few people wanted to do the "Blazing hot wings challenge". The challenge is to eat 12 of buffalo wild wing's spiciest wings in less than 6 minutes. You don't get anything to drink, no sauce, no celery sticks. If You win you get a t shirt and your picture up on the tv slideshow. So of course John was one of the people who was really hype to do this challenge. Most people who had done the challenge finish it a little before the 6 minutes with only about 30-60 seconds to spare, and of course John wanted to be everyone's time. The waitress brought out the wings and started the timer. John devoured the wings like they weren't even spicy. His whole face was covered in hot wing sauce and he finished in about 3 minutes. Afterwards he chugged a glass of milk and shrugged it off like the wings weren't even that spicy. Mind you, people have thrown up trying to finish the challenge."
-Salena Walden
As many of you know Tyler was an accomplished marksman. He went to the CMP National Championships 3 years in a row. He also was learning sporting clay shooting. I don’t have video evidence but twice he hit 2 clays with one shot, on his first try. He was just one of those people who was good at so many things.
Tyler as Darth Jar Jar. From a little kid he always love Star Wars. One of his earliest Halloween costumes was Darth Vader. That light saber in this video is actually custom. When The Force Awakens came out he went to a special showing in NYC. He watched in order all seven movies.
At the end of his senior year he had to make a video that was about him. He didn’t like the project, however he made his video perfectly, based on the rubric. He was given a failing grade for the project. The teacher claimed that he hadn’t been to all of the places that he claimed. He did make a mockery of the assignment but did meet all of the requirements. It’s pretty funny.
Check out this great video
It has been almost 4 years that Tyler is no longer physically with us. I still struggle everyday with his loss. I miss his presence. I miss our conversations. I miss having him tell me about something I knew nothing about. I miss his perspectives on things. He thought about things in ways that most of us do not. He was insightful. He pondered his own thoughts to improve them. I would offer my thoughts but usually he already thought of that and was on to greater understanding. I miss our conversations.
When I would think about Tyler it always brought me joy. When I would talk about him to others I would I have to temper myself because I didn’t want to sound like I was boasting. I just always thought he was so incredible. I am such a proud dad. Since his passing, thinking of him has brought me a lot of sadness. I am noticing that I am starting to have joy without as much sadness when thinking about Tyler. He was so remarkable. Of course he wants me to be joyful when I think of him.
I wish I didn’t take our time together for granted. We all do that, take time with others for granted. I definitely always tried to spend time with both of my kids doing stuff or just hanging out. When you lose a child you can’t help thinking that you could’ve done more, because I could have. You never think that your loved ones, unless terminally ill, won’t be here tomorrow. BUT; They May Not Be Here Tomorrow.
I thought my kids were just fine. Of course nothing is perfect but figured they are fine. But, I lost Tyler. How the fuck did that happen? I know he made a decision. It was his choice, but why??
As a dad I want to be everything that my kids ever need. If you need something, just ask dad. He will do his best to help you out in whatever way he can. Basically, not matter what, you know I got you. I think he knew this? So, then why did he leave? Why didn’t he give me chance to help him? His mother says that we need to trust him. We know Tyler and if that is what he thought he needed to do then we have to accept his decision. It is hard to accept that it had nothing to do with me. That I didn't screw up somewhere. As dad, that is a tough pill to swallow. I am beginning to kind of get it. I just miss him so much. Selfishly; I am sad that we don’t get to do stuff together or have our conversations. I will miss seeing him grow, age and accomplish. He was so amazing. I used to think things like this; is the type of person that accomplishes special things in their lifetime. I was watching someone who was truly extraordinary. Anyone who knew him knows exactly what I am talking about. I was excited to see his life unfold. Now I am seeing his life like a shooting star. This brilliant light flashed through the lives of everyone who knew him. I made this memorial website so that you could see his brilliant light if you never knew him. If you did know him maybe it will help you to feel his presence again. I also hope that it helps others in every way possible.
Memorial Video
Tyler “John” giving his roommate the finger. Warning: This video contains profanity.
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