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H.D. "Shorty" Lyle
Mr. H.D. "Shorty" Lyle, 103, passed away at his granddaughter's home in Elizabethtown, Ky. early Thursday morning, February 23, 2017.
He was born Howell Dellman Lyle in Dumas, Arkansas on December 29, 1913 to Henry Dellman Lyle and Ethel (Mauney) Lyle.
He was preceded in death by his wife of more than 60-years, Minnie Marie (Collier) Lyle; daughter, Jean Marie (Lyle) Logsdon; grandson, Joseph Glenn Logsdon; siblings, Veaton (Lyle) Watkins and Musette (Lyle) Rice; and a brother, William, who died in infancy.
Survivors include two granddaughters, Honor (Logsdon) Roth of Elizabethtown, Ky., Kristin (Logsdon) Arnold of Bloomington, Ind.; six great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.
His eyes always lit up when he talked about his work and his wife. He admits to roaming without aim until he landed in the seat of a crane. He worked construction jobs his entire life, moving from town to town, to work on the next section of a road or a bridge. He lived in 13 states over his career, mostly in the Midwest. He married Marie in 1940 and she was his constant companion and ready to make new friends in every new town. He retired to Blytheville, Arkansas in the late 1970s and spent the next 30 plus years reading westerns and mysteries, watching reruns of Bonanza and Lawrence Welk, tinkering in his shop with small engines and creating figurines out of horseshoe nails.
When Marie passed away, he moved to Indiana and spent the next 12-years in search of any food resembling her cooking (to no avail) and teaching his great-grandchildren about cards and cowboys.
Always hating the cold, he will be laid to rest in the Spring at Marie's side at Elmwood Cemetery in Blytheville, Arkansas. Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 10. Memorial contributions may be made to your local library.