Delphine L. Tyler

July 29, 1941 — April 24, 2024

St. Paul Park, Minnesota

Delphine ‘Del’ L. Philbrick Tyler

It is with great sadness, we announce the passing of our sweet mother, Delphine (Del) Louise Philbrick Tyler, born in Benson, MN, on July 29, 1941, to Lester Winfield and Lois Vivian (Christy) Philbrick.

The Philbrick family attended the 1st Evangelical Free Church, they were a devout Christian family. Del learned to love the word of God and developed an appreciation for spiritual music. The Philbrick home was filled with music as her grandfather (Walter Philbrick) and father were talented musicians. Delphine sang in the church choir and became an accomplished piano player; she was the piano player for the Morris, MN Kingdom Hall later in her life.

Delphine had outstanding secretarial skills and worked as an executive assistant. She met and fell in love with Loren Edwin Tyler at TCI (Tyler Corp, Inc) in Benson, MN, while working for him. Loren proposed to her on a flight back to Benson after a meeting in the Twin Cities. They were married on May 22, 1965. They had two daughters; Stacey Delphine (Joe Bourgoin) of St. Paul Park, MN, and Erinn Lorene (Charles Adamek) of Mico, TX.

The family enjoyed a life filled with fun which included travel around the country in their camper or motorhome, often taking friends with them or joining friends along the way, fishing, panning for gold in the Black Hills, snow skiing in the Rockies, bowling, trips to Florida to visit family and trips to DisneyWorld. They had family game nights and loved to entertain, having get-togethers with Loren’s daughters, Kathleen and Paula (from his previous marriage) and their other extended families. The Tylers had so many great friends in Benson and the surrounding area. It was a blessed life.

In the fall of 1984, the family moved to Bloomington, Il, as an extension of Loren’s current business but in February of 1987, he passed away after a battle with cancer, leaving Delphine a widow at the age of 45. Delphine lost the love of her life and her best friend. She missed him always and spoke of him very often, reveling in the many memories.

Del returned to Minnesota not long after losing Loren, she spent some time in Mankato, living in Council Bluffs, IA, for a while as well, where she made good friends, and she owned a full-service laundromat. When she sold it, Del was an expert on removing stains.

In 2006, she moved to St. Paul Park, MN and lived across the street and one yard over from Stacey and her family. Stacey and her husband, Joe, were able to help her remain living independently up until just a few weeks before her passing.

Delphine loved to travel, her favorite trip was in 1984 when she and Loren took a second honeymoon to Hawaii for two weeks. They ate a lot of good food, learned to snorkel, tried surf boarding, spent time with Delphine’s Uncle Stan and his wife. They came home with jars of macadamia nuts and gifts for the family; looking very tan and well rested.

Del loved history and learning about America’s heritage, so in 2009 she purchased a timeshare in Cape Cod and and another in Williamsburg; her favorite time of the year was going on these trips with good friends or family members. As she got older, she turned into a snowbird and would travel to Texas or Arizona, and stayed from January until April; she loved getting out of the cold.

Delphine was well loved and admired, she was very kind and loving. She was a classy lady, ‘top notch’; she had a lot of opinions…strong ones! She was a self-sufficient, born survivor, always getting back on her feet after being knocked down. Always willing to learn and better herself, if she could do or fix something herself, she would do it. She would be the first to tell you she could be stubborn and was a self-professed control freak with a feisty personality. She was a lot of fun, with a great sense of humor and she loved to laugh. She enjoyed a good debate…except when she was wrong. Delphine has 5 grandchildren and loved them all dearly; she would’ve liked more, every time she’d get a new grandbaby, she’d ask for another.

Highlights from Delphine’s working years include being Curt Carlson’s Executive Assistant (in Minneapolis), working for the state of Minnesota on the Adopt-A-Mile Project, owning and managing rental property, and finally, becoming a pharmacy technician in her late 60’s and into her 70’s. She took pride in whatever she was doing, whether it was hosting a dinner party or writing a great business letter. Her greatest and most important ‘job’ was being a stay-at-home-mom while being able to raise her girls.

Most of her adult life she maintained a garden using skills she had learned from her grandmother (Maude Philbrick) and stepmother (Dolores Philbrick). She canned all sorts of vegetables and made the most delicious pickles. In Stacey’s opinion, nobody has ever made a better watermelon rind pickle. Delphine was an excellent cook; as a toddler, Erinn would tell her she was “a good cooker!” Del also enjoyed reading, jigsaw puzzles, card games, antiquing, refinishing antiques, quilting, needlepoint, shopping, and going for a Starbucks.

In 1973, Del turned to her God, Jehovah, when she was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. She remained a faithful servant until her death. She had many cherished friends in the congregations in Mankato MN, Morris MN, Bloomington IL, Council Bluffs IA, and Cottage Grove MN. Preaching about God’s Kingdom was a large part of her life. She had a thorough knowledge of the Bible and loved sharing it with others.

Delphine is preceded in death by her husband Loren, her parents and stepmother Dolores, her siblings Rosalie and Jeffery. She is survived by her daughters Stacey and Erinn, her 5 grandchildren Kaitlin Rose, Delaney Loren, and William Tyler Bourgoin: Gianna Elizabeth and Ainsley Josephine Adamek, and her siblings Carolyn Nelson, Wynn Philbrick, and Stephanie Philbrick.

Memorial Service will be held at Kok Funeral Home 7676 80th St. S.; Cottage Grove, MN, on Friday, June 7, 2024 - Visitation starts at 4pm, Service at 5pm, with a dinner reception following.

For those who would like to participate in Del's service via livestream, you can watch the service on Friday, June 7, 2024 at 5 PM (CST). It can be viewed by scrolling to the bottom of this page, and "CLICK PLAY" to begin. Please leave a message of support on our Tribute Wall to let the family know you were able to watch the service. If you are having troubles with the Livestream, please accept our apologies, but the service will be available to watch later in the day.

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Delphine L. Tyler, please visit our flower store.

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Service Schedule

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Visitation

Friday, June 7, 2024

4:00 - 5:00 pm (Central time)

Kok Funeral Home & Cremation Service- CG

7676 80th St S, Cottage Grove, MN 55016

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