Tom Tyne, a resident of St. Thomas for 28 years, died peacefully at home on Aug. 31 after a hard-fought battle with cancer. He was 63.
Born and raised in New York, Tom earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Dayton in Ohio, a master’s degree from Hunter College in New York and his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Connecticut in 1975.
He and his wife Barbara built their first home in Rhode Island in 1976 where he taught graduate students and was the director of the School Child Psychology Program at the University of Rhode Island.
Tiring of the sedentary life of publishing articles at the university level, Tom and Barbara opted to count sunrises and sunsets in beautiful anchorages instead. They spent a year sailing from Rhode Island to St. Thomas, arriving here in 1982 with their dog and cat. They chartered Anodyne for three years and settled down in 1985 to build their first house on the island and renew their careers, in Tom’s case in psychology.
At the same time, wanting to remain involved in the boating industry and become more involved in real estate, he partnered with Charlie Herndon and opened Caribbean Marine Associates at Yacht Haven in 1985. Charlie and his wife Jaye grew that business as Southern Trades into one of the largest yacht brokerages in the Caribbean. Tom and Charlie also bought and sold property on the north side of St. Thomas.
For many years, Tom tried to find the “perfect boat.” He’d buy boats, try them out, sell them and go on to the next, almost like a scientific experiment. His love of the water also included diving and fishing for lobster and conch as well as surfing the island’s north side reefs on his whitewater kayaks.
His thirst for travel led to many wonderful trips, which he detailed in articles in publications across the country. He enjoyed whitewater kayaking throughout the world, fulfilling his love of both travel and the water.
Cars were another passion that he shared with a number of friends here and in the states. He especially loved road trips throughout the country with Barbara.
Tom and Barbara completed their dream home in 2008 on property purchased many years ago. He worked tirelessly on every detail, including growing a nursery of plants to use on the property. It was a labor of love.
His main love, however, was the people he worked with in his practice, his friends and family. His psychology practice touched many aspects of the V.I. community. Over the years, he consulted with the V.I. Police Department, Head Start, the Department of Education, FEMA after Hugo and Marilyn, taught at the University of the Virgin Islands and was active in the American Psychological Association. His work with leadership seminars, management training and business consulting gave him an opportunity to work within the community he so loved. He visited his last patient the week before he died — he cared so much for them and hated to leave them. His hope was that the people whose lives he touched will remember him and keep up the good work, knowing he is looking out for them while "kayaking in the sky."
Tom is survived by his wife, Barbara; his mother, Margaret Tyne; sisters: Terri Connors (Mike) and Judy Tyne; nephews: Chris “Moose” Dirr, and Matt and Brett Connors; niece Andrea LeBrun (Ed); cousins: Maureen, Jack, Laura, John and Michael Murray; and many special friends and family, including Dexter, Tootsie, Max and Mini.
A memorial service will be planned for a future date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Tom Tyne Cancer Research Program/ICAN, International Cancer Advocacy Network, 27 West Morten Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85021-7246 or www.askican.org, or to the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands, PO Box 11790, St. Thomas, VI 00801 in memory of Tom.
Tom Tyne, a resident of St. Thomas for 28 years, died peacefully at home on Aug. 31 after a hard-fought battle with cancer. He was 63.
