Tyler Reed Padilla was born on April 12, 1997 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Cosme Padilla Jr. and Holly Mann. Tyler passed away peacefully in his home surrounded by loved ones on February 21, 2019 from a courageous lifelong battle with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. He has been welcomed home into the loving arms of his Lord, and Savior Jesus Christ, along with his Grandpa and Grandma Trimble, Grandma Chickens, Grandpa Norv, Grandma Colleen, and Uncle Troy.
Tyler is survived by his father and stepmother, Cosme and Erin Padilla, mother and stepfather, Holly and Shaun Cahoon, and his five siblings Rylee, Auni, Brooklynn, Ryker, and Paetynn. He is also survived by several grandparents whom he was their angel, uncles, and aunts that he enjoyed spending time with, cousins with whom he idolized, and friends that he made on a daily basis just driving his chair around.
Tyler Graduated from Bingham High School in 2015. He attended South Valley School, and spent his summers at Ability and Choice Services.
The Loss of Tyler will forever leave a Tyler shaped hole in our hearts. Although his time with us was too short, Tyler's presence greatly impacted everyone he encountered. If you ever had the pleasure of meeting Tyler, your life has been forever changed for the better! In him you experienced a glimpse of what heaven will be like. He freely offered everyone unconditional love, genuine concern, intentional pursuit, peace beyond comprehension, insurmountable strength, perseverance of a saint, and the joy of an innocent child. You were touched by an angel with his permanent smile, and your soul forever pierced.
Tyler was our very own weatherman, he was obsessed with the weather and time. He memorized the 7 day forecast every single day. If your clock was off by one minute you better fix it before Tyler found out, because he would fixate on it until it was in sync with his wheelchair watches. His favorite past times were watching his younger brother play football, laughing with his sisters, or watching the weather channel, and his favorite sports teams on T.V. He enjoyed anything sports related, but he particularly loved Football, and basketball. His favorite day of the week was Sunday when he could watch his favorite sports teams and have his Grandma Terrie cook him his favorite meals. His favorite thing in this life was to spend quality time with family. Tyler also looked forward to the changing of the seasons, from the bees sucking pollen from the flowers in spring, to the scent of fresh cut grass in the summertime, to the changing of the leaves in the cool fall air. But the season he looked forward to most of all, was winter. He would watch the news religiously to see if Kevin Eubanks was in proper white attire for a winter snow storm warning. He would be waiting in anticipation for the next morning. He loved every holiday, and looked forward to putting up decorations for each of them. The day before he passed he was looking forward to putting up St. Patrick's Day Decorations. Tyler appreciated the simple things in this life. The next time you experience one of these think of Tyler, because it may just be him reminding you to enjoy them too! The buzzing of a bee, the blooming of a flower, the chirping of a bird, the scent of a home cooked meal, the laughter of a child, the rustling of a tree, a dark rain cloud in the sky, the crackling whip of lightning, 8o's music, Christmas music, the scent of blown birthday candles, the sound of a train, the sounds of summertime sports crowds cheering, and whistles blowing, the touch of a soft blanket against your skin, a lady bug landing on you. He lived in the moment and took it all in. He kept our lives in perspective, and our hearts so full. Don't sweat the small stuff he would say. We look forward to the day we get to see you again!
Tyler's spirit will live on. His love for his family and friends is an example to us all. What we hope his legacy will be is for everyone to love and accept people unconditionally. If you really want to memorialize Tyler, approach people in wheelchairs and introduce yourself to them, volunteer to go spend a week with a child at MDA camp, or camp Kostopulos, visit children at Shriners, or Primary Children's Hospital, become a friend to a child with special needs and show up in their life, volunteer to become a peer tutor at your local middle school or high school, become an organ donor, donate blood, take thank you notes, or cookies to your local firemen and neighborhood policeman, perform random acts of kindness, but do it without expectation, do it in honor of Tyler.
John 9: 1-3 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him."
Our family would love to express our appreciation for the outpouring of support and love that we have received during this difficult time. It has been beautiful, and we know Tyler is smiling down at all of you with a full heart of gratitude for the love that you have shown!
There will be a viewing for Tyler held on Friday, March 1, 2019 from 6:00p.m.- 9:00p.m. at the Larkin Mortuary in Riverton, Utah 3688 W. 12600 So. 84065
A celebration of Tyler's life will be held on March 2, 2019 from 11:00a.m.-2:00p.m. at The Rock Church in Draper, Utah 11630 S. 700 E. 84020 with Pastor Bill Young officiating. Please feel free to wear your favorite Utes, Dallas Cowboys, or Utah Jazz attire to honor Tyler
Please in Lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the following in Tyler's memory:
On the donations that you make, Please specifically state \"In Memory of Tyler Padilla\"
Shriners Hospitals for Children-Salt Lake City, UT (www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org)
1275 E. Fairfax Rd. Salt Lake City, UT 84103
Muscular Dystrophy Association of Utah (www.mda.org)
849 West Levoy Dr. #210, Salt Lake City, UT 84123
Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (www.parentprojectmd.org)
401 Hackensack Avenue, 9th Floor
Hackensack, NJ 07601
Kostopulos Dream Foundation (www.campk.org)
4180 Emigraton Canyon Rd, Salt Lake City, UT 84108
