William Roy Tye

William Roy Tye passed away in Kalamazoo on November 11, 2021.

William Tye was born January 25, 1939, in Harlan, KY. His family moved to Michigan when he was young, and Bill spent most of his life in the Great Lakes state. He grew up and attended high school in Wayne, and his college degrees were from Wayne State University and Western Michigan University.

Bill taught sculpture at the Kalamazoo Art Center and, after retiring as an art teacher from the Mattawan School System, he established, with his wife Karla, the Alchemist Tye Studio and Foundry at the Park Trades Building. Bill started the Kalamazoo Bronze Casting Company which toured statewide. His reputation as one of Michigan's most renowned sculptors will doubtless increase concomitantly with the posthumous public exhibition of his art.
William Tye married the former Karla Wyss in 1963 and settled in Kalamazoo in 1970. Surviving Bill are his wife; two daughters, August and Aimee; two granddaughters, Georgia and Athena; and two grandsons, Tye and Teo.

William was a devoted husband, parent and grandfather. He loved his home in Kalamazoo, where he lived for almost fifty years, and he loved his many feline friends that became magnetically attracted to him. Though he will be sorely missed by all who knew him, his spirit will live on in his artwork and in his progeny.

Interment will be private, and no public memorial has yet been planned. In lieu of flowers or personal gifts, Bill and his family ask that donations be made to the SPCA of Southwest Michigan and/or the Centrica Care Navigators Hospice Care of Southwest Michigan. Arrangements entrusted to Langeland Family Funeral Homes Burial & Cremation Services, 622 S Burdick St, Kalamazoo, MI 49007. To leave an online condolence, please visit his personalized webpage at https://www.langelands.com