Sonja Tyler
| Sonja Tyler | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sex | F |
| Birth name | Sonja Lambert |
| Spouse | Scott Tyler |
| Father | Bob Lambert |
| Mother | Zivah |
Sonja Tyler was born Sonja Lambert, child of Bob Lambert and his first wife Zivah.
Sonja's father, Bob, was an orphan from Japan and adopted by Americans. Her mother's father was Mexican who married an Iraqi Jew. Their daughter, Zivah, left Bob and Sonja in the U.S. to return to Israel to fight in the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Zivah stayed in the Army section of the Israeli Defense Forces (the IDF), becoming a Colonel.
Bob remarried and Sonja was raised in Pontiac, near Detroit. Her step-mother Gina "came from an Italian family which had really held onto its culture." Sonja has two younger half-brothers, Dominique and Alphonse.DM8
Sonja married Scott Tyler, a member of the Bradford High School Class of 1988. The couple met at Michigan State University. There continued an estrangement between mother and daughter, especially when Zivah attempted to convince Sonja to serve in the IDF. Emily Holst explained "Sonja told us (that) her mother had shown up out of nowhere to try and browbeat her into doing her duty, so she was hiding out with Scott's family... The two of them beat it out of town on about two minutes notice."HS2 Zivah didn't stop until Scott and Sonja's wedding two days later. They have reconciled enough for the Tylers to visit Israel on vacation, but things remain strained.
They have two children, a daughter Sabra and a son, Scotty, both preschoolers by the time of their High School ten-year reunion. The live in Okemos, near Lansing where they are good friends with Aaron and Amber Heisler.
"Sonja has a job where she could work at home, doing technical editing and website construction on her computer, so that made her schedule a little flexible."HS4
Sonja is very dark. When Scott was first dating her the rumor mill in Bradford had that she was an African-American from Detroit. "She's dark, yes, but the skin tone isn't right for black."HS2 As she was later described "She was a beautiful, well-spoken, and intelligent dark-skinned woman with some oriental features to her face, and it was obvious from the first five seconds that Scott had made a helluva catch in her; she was a seriously cool lady."HS24 Some considered that while she was beautiful, it wasn't an in your face beauty, but rather, "a quiet, reserved, natural handsomeness and placidity that was awesome."HS17
Scott and Sonja shared a table with Bob Spheris, Sharon Holdenhoven, Aaron and Amber Heisler at the class twenty year reunion.REU3
