Minnesota dad dies in accident while vacationing in Mexico
Donations are pouring in for the family of a Minnesota man who died unexpectedly while on vacation in Mexico.
Tyler Moening, 39, lived with his wife and two young daughters in Savage. He was killed in a bike accident within a day of arriving with his family in Riviera Maya, a popular tourist destination on the eastern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, last weekend.
Born in Bemidji, Moening was raised in Walker, and excelled in sports like football and wrestling at Walker-Hackensack-Akeley High School, his obituary says. He went on to earn his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in graphic design at Minnesota State University Moorhead, where he met "the love of his life and future wife," Rebecca:
After college, Tyler moved to the Twin Cities area where he began his career working in Business Computer Software sales. Tyler worked for the companies Epicor, Oracle and most recently, he was an Account Executive for Salesforce. Tyler excelled greatly at his work and was very well respected for his work ethic and leadership style.
He and Rebecca were married in 2012, and welcomed their first daughter Mila two years later, and a second girl, Eva, in 2017.
"Tyler was a wonderful husband to Rebecca and father to Mila and Eva, whom he loved more than words can say," the obituary says.
He was also remembered as "an absolute Minnesota Vikings football fanatic," having held a season ticket for home games and traveling with friends to cheer for the team at away games. He even had a Viking-themed "Man cave," which was a "sight to behold and is truly an impressive display of Minnesota Viking art and memorabilia."
According to a GoFundMe set up on his family's behalf, a police investigation showed that "while riding his bike at night he hit a curb and he and the bike fell down a fairly steep area where he hit his head on a rock."
In the days since, the GoFundMe has come within striking distance of clearing its fundraising goal of $100,000. As of this writing, it's raised over $91,000 in donations.
A celebration of life will be held at the Bluewater Lodge, 7051 Wintergreen Trail NW, Walker, MN, next Saturday at 3 p.m. Guests are encouraged to "bring your favorite memory of Ty to share and dress in your favorite Vikings gear" in honor of "the team’s #1 Fan."
"The outpouring of love is confirmation of how loved Tyler was," reads one of the updates on the GoFundMe. "Thank you so much for all the donations."
