Man of Avon: W. Scott Tiernan '70

GULF STREAM — William Scott Tiernan, who grew up in Delray Beach, died July 27 in Laramie, Wyo. He was 67. 
Mr. Tiernan — who went by “Grand Dude” when with his grandchildren and by “Wild Bill” when on his Wyoming ranch — was born in West Orange, N.J., on May 18, 1951. The second of four kids, he grew up on the ocean in Delray Beach and spent his childhood summers surfing on Cape Cod and in East Hampton. 

He attended high school at Avon Old Farms in Connecticut, where he lettered in football, wrestling and lacrosse. After graduation, he served on the school’s board and donated a wrestling room in honor of his late father, John W. Tiernan.

After a series of adventures and surf trips around the world, Mr. Tiernan moved to Gulf Stream — just down the road from the home he grew up in — where he became a partner in the real estate brokerage firm Allmon & Tiernan. He also served on the board of his family’s company, Mark, Fore & Strike. After his retirement, he bought a property just outside Laramie, where he built a ranch and enjoyed making huge metal sculptures — much to his kids’ and grandkids’ delight. 

Mr. Tiernan is survived by his mother, Lynda Scheerer Stokes of Gulf Stream; the mother of his four children, Kim Allmon Tiernan of Guana Cay, Bahamas; his three sons: Scott Durand Tiernan of Newport Beach, Calif., Parker Knight Tiernan of Delray Beach and John Sears Tiernan of Great Falls, Mont.; a daughter, Cary Tiernan Butterfield of Bermuda; Cary’s three children: Ava, Cruz and Elle Butterfield; three siblings: Michael Whitaker Tiernan and Ann Purcell Tiernan of Delray Beach and Martha Tiernan Ely of Gulf Stream. Scores of family and friends will remember fondly his bright blue eyes, surfer dude hair, and thirst for adventure.  A celebration of Mr. Tiernan’s life will take place at a later date.