Gerald was born into the family of James Buchanan Weaver and Roberta Magnolia (Rinehart) Tyner on 3 December 2018. He was their fourth child and their second son. He was born in Ramona, Oklahoma where he was grew up.
As a teen, he and his brothers traveled with their father during the hard years of the Great Depression. They were migrant workers in several locations. His older brother, Jarvis, was a youth minister. As part of their traveling and Jarvis' calling, he ended up in Ordway, Colorado, with younger brother, Gerald. There Gerald met the love of his life, Laura Aurelia Picklum, in helping his brother serve at the church attended by the Picklum family.
When America went to war, during World War II, all of the Tyner brothers - four of them - signed up. Prior to enlisting, Gerald received an Honorable Discharge, on 20 January 1941, from his work with the Civilian Conservation Corps. Gerald became a Flight Officer, obtaining his Army Air Forces diploma on 30 August 1943, in Brooks Field, Texas. He was specifically trained to fly B-24s, which were used for bombing.
Upon completion of his training and graduation, he was stationed out of a base in Bari, Italy, where he began to serve. He was involved in 12 successful missions over eastern and central Europe, as well as the Balkans. One of them was attacking the huge oil fields in Ploiesti, Romania, which were vital for the Nazi war machine. On his 13th mission, in May 1944, his plane was shot down and he became a German prisoner of war. He remained a prisoner for almost a year, being liberated by Allied forces in April 1945. Which led to him being in Paris on May 8th, V-Day.
Upon returning home and recovering his health, he married Laura on 16 August 1945 in Ordway, Colorado. During the early years of their marriage, Gerald worked in various jobs to support his family. One of them was as a carpet layer. During this time, they were blessed with four children.
In 1954, Gerald and Laura moved their growing family to Delta, Colorado, where they both lived the remainder of their lives. Here two of their six children were born. Gerald briefly owned a floor covering business, before turning to farming on a property south of Delta. He worked very hard there for many years, before selling it in the early 1980s. He lived the remainder of his life on a small property at the outskirts of Delta.
Gerald loved fishing and hunting. He and Laura both favored trips to Grand Mesa especially. They had a wonderful view of this remarkable mountain, from their farm. As a special treat, they would also drive the family down to fish on the Cimarron River just outside the Uncompahgre Wilderness area.
He passed away on 3 May 2000. Funeral services were held at the Calvary Baptist Church in Delta, followed by his interment in the Delta Cemetery.
As a teen, he and his brothers traveled with their father during the hard years of the Great Depression. They were migrant workers in several locations. His older brother, Jarvis, was a youth minister. As part of their traveling and Jarvis' calling, he ended up in Ordway, Colorado, with younger brother, Gerald. There Gerald met the love of his life, Laura Aurelia Picklum, in helping his brother serve at the church attended by the Picklum family.
When America went to war, during World War II, all of the Tyner brothers - four of them - signed up. Prior to enlisting, Gerald received an Honorable Discharge, on 20 January 1941, from his work with the Civilian Conservation Corps. Gerald became a Flight Officer, obtaining his Army Air Forces diploma on 30 August 1943, in Brooks Field, Texas. He was specifically trained to fly B-24s, which were used for bombing.
Upon completion of his training and graduation, he was stationed out of a base in Bari, Italy, where he began to serve. He was involved in 12 successful missions over eastern and central Europe, as well as the Balkans. One of them was attacking the huge oil fields in Ploiesti, Romania, which were vital for the Nazi war machine. On his 13th mission, in May 1944, his plane was shot down and he became a German prisoner of war. He remained a prisoner for almost a year, being liberated by Allied forces in April 1945. Which led to him being in Paris on May 8th, V-Day.
Upon returning home and recovering his health, he married Laura on 16 August 1945 in Ordway, Colorado. During the early years of their marriage, Gerald worked in various jobs to support his family. One of them was as a carpet layer. During this time, they were blessed with four children.
In 1954, Gerald and Laura moved their growing family to Delta, Colorado, where they both lived the remainder of their lives. Here two of their six children were born. Gerald briefly owned a floor covering business, before turning to farming on a property south of Delta. He worked very hard there for many years, before selling it in the early 1980s. He lived the remainder of his life on a small property at the outskirts of Delta.
Gerald loved fishing and hunting. He and Laura both favored trips to Grand Mesa especially. They had a wonderful view of this remarkable mountain, from their farm. As a special treat, they would also drive the family down to fish on the Cimarron River just outside the Uncompahgre Wilderness area.
He passed away on 3 May 2000. Funeral services were held at the Calvary Baptist Church in Delta, followed by his interment in the Delta Cemetery.
Gerald was born into the family of James Buchanan Weaver and Roberta Magnolia (Rinehart) Tyner on 3 December 2018. He was their fourth child and their second son. He was born in Ramona, Oklahoma where he was grew up.
As a teen, he and his brothers traveled with their father during the hard years of the Great Depression. They were migrant workers in several locations. His older brother, Jarvis, was a youth minister. As part of their traveling and Jarvis' calling, he ended up in Ordway, Colorado, with younger brother, Gerald. There Gerald met the love of his life, Laura Aurelia Picklum, in helping his brother serve at the church attended by the Picklum family.
When America went to war, during World War II, all of the Tyner brothers - four of them - signed up. Prior to enlisting, Gerald received an Honorable Discharge, on 20 January 1941, from his work with the Civilian Conservation Corps. Gerald became a Flight Officer, obtaining his Army Air Forces diploma on 30 August 1943, in Brooks Field, Texas. He was specifically trained to fly B-24s, which were used for bombing.
Upon completion of his training and graduation, he was stationed out of a base in Bari, Italy, where he began to serve. He was involved in 12 successful missions over eastern and central Europe, as well as the Balkans. One of them was attacking the huge oil fields in Ploiesti, Romania, which were vital for the Nazi war machine. On his 13th mission, in May 1944, his plane was shot down and he became a German prisoner of war. He remained a prisoner for almost a year, being liberated by Allied forces in April 1945. Which led to him being in Paris on May 8th, V-Day.
Upon returning home and recovering his health, he married Laura on 16 August 1945 in Ordway, Colorado. During the early years of their marriage, Gerald worked in various jobs to support his family. One of them was as a carpet layer. During this time, they were blessed with four children.
In 1954, Gerald and Laura moved their growing family to Delta, Colorado, where they both lived the remainder of their lives. Here two of their six children were born. Gerald briefly owned a floor covering business, before turning to farming on a property south of Delta. He worked very hard there for many years, before selling it in the early 1980s. He lived the remainder of his life on a small property at the outskirts of Delta.
Gerald loved fishing and hunting. He and Laura both favored trips to Grand Mesa especially. They had a wonderful view of this remarkable mountain, from their farm. As a special treat, they would also drive the family down to fish on the Cimarron River just outside the Uncompahgre Wilderness area.
He passed away on 3 May 2000. Funeral services were held at the Calvary Baptist Church in Delta, followed by his interment in the Delta Cemetery.
As a teen, he and his brothers traveled with their father during the hard years of the Great Depression. They were migrant workers in several locations. His older brother, Jarvis, was a youth minister. As part of their traveling and Jarvis' calling, he ended up in Ordway, Colorado, with younger brother, Gerald. There Gerald met the love of his life, Laura Aurelia Picklum, in helping his brother serve at the church attended by the Picklum family.
When America went to war, during World War II, all of the Tyner brothers - four of them - signed up. Prior to enlisting, Gerald received an Honorable Discharge, on 20 January 1941, from his work with the Civilian Conservation Corps. Gerald became a Flight Officer, obtaining his Army Air Forces diploma on 30 August 1943, in Brooks Field, Texas. He was specifically trained to fly B-24s, which were used for bombing.
Upon completion of his training and graduation, he was stationed out of a base in Bari, Italy, where he began to serve. He was involved in 12 successful missions over eastern and central Europe, as well as the Balkans. One of them was attacking the huge oil fields in Ploiesti, Romania, which were vital for the Nazi war machine. On his 13th mission, in May 1944, his plane was shot down and he became a German prisoner of war. He remained a prisoner for almost a year, being liberated by Allied forces in April 1945. Which led to him being in Paris on May 8th, V-Day.
Upon returning home and recovering his health, he married Laura on 16 August 1945 in Ordway, Colorado. During the early years of their marriage, Gerald worked in various jobs to support his family. One of them was as a carpet layer. During this time, they were blessed with four children.
In 1954, Gerald and Laura moved their growing family to Delta, Colorado, where they both lived the remainder of their lives. Here two of their six children were born. Gerald briefly owned a floor covering business, before turning to farming on a property south of Delta. He worked very hard there for many years, before selling it in the early 1980s. He lived the remainder of his life on a small property at the outskirts of Delta.
Gerald loved fishing and hunting. He and Laura both favored trips to Grand Mesa especially. They had a wonderful view of this remarkable mountain, from their farm. As a special treat, they would also drive the family down to fish on the Cimarron River just outside the Uncompahgre Wilderness area.
He passed away on 3 May 2000. Funeral services were held at the Calvary Baptist Church in Delta, followed by his interment in the Delta Cemetery.
