Roger Lyle

Obituary of Roger Held Lyle

Roger Held Lyle

April 29, 1931 -- March 17, 2023

Retired USAF Lt. Col. Roger H. Lyle, 91, of Hilton Head Island, SC, was carried by angels into the Divine presence of his Lord and Savior on Friday evening, March 17, 2023.  Having discovered only three weeks before that he was suffering from Mesothelioma, Roger was taken home from the hospital on March 6, to be under Hospice care and to be with his loving wife, Muriel, for his remaining time until he took his last breath.

Roger was born on April 29, 1931, in Detroit, Michigan, to his parents Myrtle Violet Held Lyle and George Dewey Lyle.

Upon graduation from high school, Roger completed three and a half years of college before he received his appointment to the United States Naval Academy in 1952.  After graduation in 1956, he was allowed to change his commission to the USAF, where he was with the USAF Office of Special Investigations for five years until he received an Olmsted Scholarship for graduate studies abroad.  Having savored Brazil during Youngster Cruise, his choice of the University of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro was an easy decision.  He studied Portuguese at the Naval Academy which made graduating from Language School an easy task.  After almost three years in Rio, he spent the next three in Panama, followed by a year at the Inter-American Defense College in Washington, DC, on assignments that were language oriented.

Enjoying the Washington area, he chose to move over to the Pentagon for various Air Staff assignments in the budget/comptroller arena, and then returned to the language/political business as Political Advisor at the unified command in the Azores.  From there it was the Air War College at Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, Alabama, for a relaxing and most rewarding tour in that it was there that he met his wife and the love of his life, Muriel.  The remaining years with the Air Force were spent principally in the Pentagon with OSD/ISA as Country Director for Brazil, Venezuela, Columbia, Uruguay, and Paraguay.  At the time of his retirement in July, 1978, he was the Exec for Andrews AFB, Maryland.

Roger joined with a consulting firm and he and Muriel went to the Far East for a year where he represented principally the Vought Corporation, but also all other LTV interests throughout the Far East.  Although based in Seoul, Korea, he and Muriel traveled to all points in that vast area before returning home to “permanent” retirement at their lake home in Central Virginia.

After retirement, Roger experienced heart issues which led to a heart quadruple bypass surgery which gave him a new lease on life.  They moved to Fredericksburg, VA, where they resided until moving to Hilton Head Island, SC, in 1994, and became involved with  First Baptist Church Hilton Head Island, in 1995.  At the age of 75, Roger was baptized by Dr John Keller, and received membership into the family of believers. 

In 2017, he applied to the Guinness Book of World Records for the length of his survival following heart bypass surgery, and on February 16, 2018, he was verified as being the “Longest Surviving Quadruple Heart Bypass Patient”—a title for which he was proud as God had blessed him in attaining that goal in living a life for which was fulfilled in becoming a follower of Jesus Christ.

Roger was predeceased not only by his parents, but by all of his siblings and their spouses: Joyce (Carl) Adler; Robert “Bob” (Sally) Lyle; and Patty (Bob) Hutchinson.

He is survived by his loving wife of 46 years, H. Muriel Joyner Lyle, his children, Dr. George D. Lyle, II and wife Donna, Winter Haven, FL.; Julie C. Lyle, McKinney, TX; and Ada Lynn Lyle, Alexandria, VA.  Two grandchildren, George D. Lyle, III and Elizabeth (Edward) Smith, Boston, MA; one great granddaughter, Gwen Smith.

Roger will always be remembered for his magnetic personality, his laughter and wit, but mostly for his love of God and hunger for His Word.  He and Muriel were blessed to have been able to take the Holy Land Tour with Dr. Wendall Estep’s group in 2015,  where he received a second baptism in the Jordan River, an experience he considered the most wonderful and meaningful experience of his entire lifetime.

A  Visitation will be held Wednesday, March 22 from 5 to 7 PM at The Island Funeral Home, 4 Cardinal Road, Hilton Head.  A Memorial Service will be held at First Baptist Church Hilton Head Island, 100 South Forest Beach Road, Hilton Head Island, SC, on Thursday, March 23, 2023, at 1:30 PM.  He will be interred at the Beaufort National Cemetery, Beaufort, SC, with Full Military Honors, at 11:00 AM, prior to the Memorial Service.

Roger had a passion for The Wounded Warrior Project, and in lieu of flowers it is requested that donations, in his memory, be made to Wounded Warrior Project, www.wounedwarriorproject.org.

 

 

Wednesday
22
March

Visitation

5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Wednesday, March 22, 2023
The Island Funeral Home and Crematory
4 Cardinal Road
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, United States
843-681-4400
Thursday
23
March

Burial Service

11:00 am
Thursday, March 23, 2023
Beaufort National Cemetery
1601 Boundary St
Beaufort, South Carolina, United States
(843) 524-3925
Thursday
23
March

Memorial Service

1:30 pm
Thursday, March 23, 2023
First Baptist Church of Hilton Head Island
100 South Forest Beach Drive
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, United States
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