We’re very sad today thinking about our friend Tyko who died in an accident last weekend. Tyko was a carpenter, an entrepreneur, a friend, an artist. He remodeled a garage into an office/studio for us at the beach, and in 1995 put an addition on our (1849) Court Street house that changed the way we live here. Today at his memorial service we heard all the many stories that were similar to our own stories…stories that revealed all the things about Tyko that we knew to be true. He was smart, he was funny, he was nuanced, he was hard working and honest. He had ideas, and was intuitive in the extreme. Working with Tyko was, for us anyway, a collaboration and way too much fun. Of the MANY stories I could tell, I will chose just this one:
The new addition was to be contiguous with the kitchen. I asked Tyko to build in some shelving for the cook books and he said…” oh no Bonnie. Your house is so old it would NEVER have had built ins. That won’t be possible.” Oh. The next day he arrived with his (brand new) video camera, plunked it on the counter and said…”look at this, it”s your new cookbook shelf…I built it last night with some old doors I had in the shed.” And luckily I agreed, so today and everyday at Court Street I think of Tyko when I open the doors and grab a cook book. I don’t like to think of a world without Tyko, but his spirit is imbedded in our houses and our lives.
On The Way 
bonnie, that bookshelf is beautiful. a lovely, soulful object made for a cook & a perfect remembrance of tyco. sorry for your loss.
Sorry for your loss.
A lovely tribute to your friend Tyko. So sorry about your loss of a friend and I loved what you said about his spirit living on in your beautiful home.
Wow! What a huge loss…creative and practical. That’s hard to find. He must have been thrilled to have had a relationship with you and Roger. You so appreciate talent.
Oh that is so sad. He was way too young. Wondered where you were today….sorry to hear this.
C
Oh this is sad, what a beautiful human being. I love that cabinet he built for you.
Dear Bonnie, Stories are what defines us as Human Beings, and is our legacy to those with us, and after us. I am happy you were able to have a wonderful story of what appears to have been a wonderful Huam Being. My old Spiritual Teacher used to say about alot about death, but this one stood out in my mind;
“…Love is a great knowledge in human intimacies, but it is a terrible knowledge, simultaneously. Love moves you beyond the usual insult of mortality, but it takes place in the context of mortality. At the same time that love relieves you, in some respects, of the insult of mortality, it also makes the suffering of mortality more profound. So, to love anyone is a terrible “problem” — friend, intimate, child, mother, father. To love at all is to be confronted with the terrible nature of mortality….”. Adi Da Samraj
All my best, Sincerely, Joseph Blanchette
Tyko built my brother’s house (Eric Olsen),and also worked on his office building on State Street when they were remodeling the building. Eric and I both commented on what a great guy he was. Tyko’s father was also my father’s business partner. I still remember Tyko putting some wood cut outs he painted in African motifs on the side of a house. He was just a teenager-and really, they seemed strange at the time, but now we would say that he was way ahead of the curve. He was multi-talented and a renaissance man. I loved reading your tribute, Bonnie.
Sincerely, Sigrid Olsen
i went to Cascade High School with Tyko. I remember him as being so talented in Art. I really envied him. He was so smart. I now live in Phoenix, AZ. I was on my computer and all of a sudden I started thinking of him and Googled him. I had no idea he passed away this year. What a coincidence. Both my parents Manuel and Ascencion Gonzalez also passed away this year – 3 mos. apart from each other. May he rest in peace. Molly Gonzalez – Graduate of Cascade High, Turner, OR 1971.