Timothy Cayler

Timothy Allen Cayler, 54, of Lake Lillian, Minn., passed away Wednesday, June 4, 2025.

His Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, June 12, at Church of St. Mary in Willmar, Minn. Interment will follow in the church cemetery. Visitation will be from 4-7 p.m. Wednesday, June 11, at Church of St. Mary, with a 3 p.m. public prayer service. Visitation will continue one hour prior to Mass at the church on Thursday. His funeral will be livestreamed via -  https://www.ourlivingwater.org/timcayler.html. Funeral arrangements are with Harvey Anderson – Johnson Funeral Home in Willmar. www.hafh.org

Dear readers,

I didn’t get our annual Cayler Christmas letter done last year, so I’ll try to put a little flavor into this horribly difficult obituary. Tim was committed to the daily reading of obituaries on several funeral homes’ websites in order to both draw a connection to the deceased and to see if he would have something extra to prepare for in the upcoming days. He deserves a more personal touch on his than the traditional flat format.

With love to all, Shannon

Tim was born June 9, 1970, in Fargo, N.D., to Roger and Janna (Audette) Cayler. His family lived in Moorhead, Minn., where he was baptized at St. Joseph Catholic Church before moving to a farmstead outside of Barnesville until adulthood. He began school at Assumption Catholic School and attended through fourth grade when the school closed in 1980. Tim transferred to Barnesville’s public schools. He graduated from Barnesville High School in 1988 and went on to attend St. John’s University, earning his bachelor of fine arts degree in music education in 1992. He later pursued a master’s in choral conducting from St. Cloud State University. Many remember Tim being very active in both school and church where his love for music and God flourished.

Tim began his teaching career at Albert City-Truesdale School in Albert City. The people in this small rural community adopted him so quickly as one of their own. His gift of connecting with people in deep ways made a life-long impact on him and them. Tim told so many stories about his six years there that when he moved back to Minnesota in 1999 to teach with Willmar Public Schools so he was a little closer to his family, they all thought he grew up in Iowa!  He was proud of that and enjoyed the laughter that followed when he corrected them with a Minnesota accented “You betcha” and a smile. As the Willmar Junior High (which turned into the Willmar Middle School) music teacher, he taught and directed choir and musicals until 2013. He also recently substituted as the choir director at Central Minnesota Christian School in Prinsburg. Through the 20+ years as a teacher, Mr. Cayler had impacted many, many lives with his gifts of kindness, mentorship, silliness and connection. His high expectations for the youth under his care helped them to achieve a level of performance both musically and theatrically that they didn’t initially believe would ever happen. He knew students’ birthdays and would sing to them in class with an exaggerated version of the song that always ended with a run of the keyboard. Of course, Tim continued to apply his gift of connecting people as he figured out the siblings of his students or who their neighbors, parents, cousins or grandparents were. He is so, so loved as one of the favorite teachers. His go to Friday Fun choir days in class often included the song “Lean on Me” with a few additional words and motions that students would joyfully sing down the halls or into their next class.

While teaching in Willmar, Tim met fellow teacher Shannon Pohlmeier. What a pair: the musician theater guy who loved antiques with the athletic, farm-girl English teacher!  From the beginning of getting to know each other personally, Tim made the connection that he was distantly related to Shannon’s brother-in-law. Rarely a day went by in their 21 years that he didn’t share a story of a people connection that he had figured out. Tim and Shannon were married on June 12, 2004, at the Church of St. Mary. Together they are blessed with four very loved sons: Matthew, 19, Aaron, 17, Isaac, 16 and Levi, 12, who were his greatest joy and constant source of pride. He shared many, many stories about them to others that exemplified his love for them.

Tim entered St. John’s with the intention of becoming a church musician. However, as he told the story, he got a D in organ class and was told to dump that dream. So, he did and went into education. But, in 2013, he left teaching to share his musical gifts with the Church of St. Mary and the Catholic Area Faith Community of Jesus Our Living Water. Oh, the irony! As director of music ministry, he led choirs of all ages and believed wholeheartedly that he was only the accompanist to the musicians that lead the worship. He incorporated many musical instruments and pulled from parishioners’ musical skills to deepen people’s relationship with God.

Though, not a soul would complain when he sang alone.

Tim served as president of Music Matters and was a member of the American Choral Directors Association. He had a wide range of interests and hobbies including learning family history, antique collecting, gardening, baking and reading western novels. His memory of how people are connected surpassed any other human being. Above all, he was his children’s biggest fan.

He is survived by his wife Shannon; sons: Matthew, Aaron, Isaac and Levi; parents, Roger and Janna Cayler of Barnesville, Minn.; siblings: Mitchell (Kristy) Cayler of Maple Lake, Minn.; Joe (Zelina “Linnie”) Cayler of Syracuse, Utah; and Wesley Cayler (Scott Thomas) of Inver Grove Heights, Minn.; his in-laws: Pam and Roger Osborne of Eden Valley, Minn.; and Rich and Jackie Pohlmeier of Brownton, Minn.; hundreds of extended family and friends.

He was preceded in death by grandparents, nephew Dylan Cayler and numerous extended family members.

Tim’s deep faith, commitment to ministry and generous spirit will be missed far beyond the notes of his music. May perpetual light shine upon him, and may he rest in peace. Amen.