Retired Lt. Col. Ronald Tyre passed away Monday August 10, 2015 at his home with his loving wife and family by his side. He was born on February 13th 1927 in Daytona Beach, Florida to Oscar and Lula Tyre. He was raised in Daytona Beach where he excelled as a multi-sport athlete at Sea Breeze High School.

At the age of 18 he joined the Army Air Corp and served with the U.S. forces in Europe during WWII. He graduated in 1951 from Auburn University with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering. Shortly thereafter he was called back into the Air Force, where he served in a variety of positions in planning, testing and program management of aircraft, missile and space systems. In 1952 he fell in love and married a young Air Force nurse, Catherine "Kay" Wacker of Newark, NJ. They were happily married for the past 63 years and shared many wonderful memories while raising a loving family.

After 32 years of active duty, Ron retired from the Air Force and began working at the Kennedy Space Center for Planning Research Corporation and then for McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company, where he was involved in shuttle facility modifications and payload integration. It was this second career that enabled Ron to pursue his passion for sailing and to buy his treasured sailboats, Eagle l and then Eagle II. His love of sailing took him to many exotic spots in the Caribbean for pleasure and racing. His favorite times were the many trips he and Kay spent cruising the Abaco Islands with friends and family.

His interest in sailing also resulted in a number of visits to various America Cup races both in the US and as far away as Australia. At one point he went as far as to design a "winged keel" that he submitted to the US team. The team, unfortunately, chose not to pursue his design and were subsequently soundly beaten by the Australian team. Ron has been past Commodore of the East Coast Sailing Association and the Port Canaveral Yacht Club. For many years he raced in and managed the offshore racing program for both organizations.

He is survived by his wife Kay of Satellite Beach, daughter Lori Martin of Tallahassee FL, son Ron Jr. of Huntsville AL, son Dean of Suntree FL, their spouses, seven grandchildren and thirteen great grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday August 22nd to celebrate Ron's life and the fact he is now with his Lord and Savior. The service will be 5 PM at Trinity Wellspring Church in Satellite Beach, Florida. Interment will take place at Veterans National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida at a later date.

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to the Wounded Warrior Project at www.woundedwarriorproject.org.