John G. (Zing) Tyler, 94, of Thundercastle Road, died Wednesday March 4, 2009 at Maine General Medical Center in Augusta.

He was born in Lexington, Mass., on Sept. 15, 1914, the son of Dr. Winsor M. and Gertrude (Ball) Tyler.

John attended elementary schools in Massachusetts and graduated from Buckingham, Brown and Nichols High School. He was drafted into the U.S. Army after Pearl Harbor and proudly served with the 90th Infantry Division in Europe from 1941 to 1945.

He met his future wife Mary Remick in New Hampshire and on Jan. 7, 1953 the couple married in Caribou, Maine. John worked as a plumber and pipe fitter at Loring Air Force Base in Limestone. In 1956, they moved to Readfield where he worked for Howard Harriman Plumbing and later for Fred Bliss Plumbing and Heating until his retirement in 1974. They moved to Chappaquiddick and traveled extensively abroad. He enjoyed music and played the clarinet with local bands, performing at many dance halls. He also enjoyed carving birds. In 2004, they returned to Readfield. He was a member of the Readfield United Methodist Church.

He is survived by his loving wife of 55 years, Mary Tyler of Readfield; two sons, John W. Tyler and his wife Marjorie of Readfield, and Henry M. Tyler and his wife Lynn of Hampden; and from his first marriage, a son, John Frost Tyler, of Fairfield, Iowa and a daughter, Susan Gage Tyler, of Amherst, Mass; seven grandchildren, Margaret and Jane Tyler, Andrea and Daniel Tyler, Nicholas Tyler, Nathaniel Shippey and Gabriel Johnson; and extended family Susan Moore of South China and Gerald Jeffers of Chappaquiddick Island.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday, July 25 at the Readfield United Methodist Church, Rt. 17, Kents Hill. Burial will be in the Readfield Corner Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Kennebec Land Trust, P.O. Box 261 Winthrop, Maine 04364.

Arrangements are in the care of Roberts Funeral Home, 62 Bowdoin street , Winthrop, www.khrfuneralhomes.com.