Matthew Tyler Milliken

May 28, 1991 - February 26, 2011

Tyler was born on May 28, 1991 in Kingsport Tennessee. From the very beginning, Ty was a joy and inspiration to all he came in contact with. He was truly a free spirit. Everyone that had the privilege to love and know Ty can be comforted by the fact that he now resides with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father.

Tyler attended Grace Community Bible Church and was an active member of the youth organization for much of his middle school and early high school years. Bus rides on youth trips and small group meetings, and father son campouts were his favorite activities. His parents have come to realize it was probably during these years that he developed his “love for people”. He was always willing to go out of his way to help or provide for others, many times unknown to those closest to him. Those stories became known after Ty passed.

From an early age, Ty was active in all sports but his main passion was football. Ty loved football and the time he spent with all of his “buds” as members of the Pecan Grove Hurricanes and Travis Tigers. He usually gave up a step and a few pounds to the competition, but made up for it in desire. One of his main goals was to play 5A Texas State football. He graduated from Fort Bend Travis High School in 2010, a proud member of the school’s first four year graduating class and a member of the football team.

When not playing football, Ty enjoyed many UT football games with his dad and brother, along with the Ellison and Stotler families. He was always the center of attention on the long day trips to games in Austin.

While UT was his preference, Ty attended Texas Tech University in the fall semester of 2010. Bottom line, things just didn’t work out for him in Lubbock. His desire was to be somewhere else, and after his first semester he decided to come home to re-evaluate his options and figure out what he wanted to do.

Realizing the need to be responsible for certain expenses, Ty went back to work delivering take-out food orders at a restaurant where he had previously worked. He had worked there in the past and made many friends, both at work and with local neighbors. It was while delivering the last order on the night of February 26, 2011 that he was killed in a tragic vehicle incident.

While Tyler’s time with us was short, his influence is everlasting. He will always be remembered for his love for family and friends and his passion for life. Actually he lives on physically in others through his generous life giving and enhancing donations to the LifeGift organization.

Tyler had a relationship with God and like all of us he wasn’t perfect. He sometimes made mistakes and questionable decisions. But most importantly, he knew and accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior and understood the price that Jesus paid for his salvation. Tyler accepted this eternal gift through faith and his relationship with our Lord made him the person he was. This is a brief account of Tyler’s story until we meet again.

“Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life.” – John 6:47