Lyle Robert Engle, the first born of Robert M. and Esther (Upton) Engle, was born on Friday, October 8, 1926 in their home in Enterprise, Kansas. The family moved a lot in his early years as his father sought work during those difficult years. Thus he has lived in various communities in Kansas, Nebraska and Wyoming. He also lived with his grandparents in Missouri for a year. Lyle had a brother, Roy, born in 1933 and a sister Mildred born in 1935 – both of whom idolized him as their "big brother". Lyle sold papers to buy his first bicycle and at the age of 15 was sweeping floors in the foundry for 15 cents an hour. Lyle begged his parents to allow him to enlist in the U.S. Navy, promising to finish high school upon his return. He left on August 23, 1944 for boot camp in Great Lakes, IL, then to Ft. Pierce, FL and then to Newport, RI for firefighting school and then back to Tampa, FL and on a ship. He served on the USS Saugus LSV IV, which carried troops to invasion fronts and casualties to rear areas. Lyle received an honorable discharge on June 12, 1946 as a Coxswain V-6 USNR at Norman, OK. Following his high school graduation, as promised, he began his career with Southwestern Bell Telephone Company on September 16, 1947 as a lineman. Lyle loved softball. If he wasn't playing, he was watching. It was at a softball game between Enterprise and Solomon that he first saw Darlene. Their first official meeting was at a dance at the Solomon Legion Hall on Valentine's Day in 1947. That was the start of something very special. They were engaged on Darlene's 18th birthday July 15, 1948 and married on February 13, 1949. Following a time of living in a 30 ft. trailer and in veterans housing in Enterprise, Lyle bought his first house in Solomon in 1952. He and Darlene raised their family in Solomon and all the children graduated from high school there. Following a farm accident on July 4, 1972 when a squeeze chute fell on him, Lyle was more limited in his activities, but he never gave up. Although doctors wanted to amputate his leg, he refused. He proved himself right as he was able to walk as he and Darlene celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary just 19 months after the accident. However, he was not able to do the work required of him by the telephone company so retired in 1975 after 28 years of service. Lyle and Darlene started building their dream home in 1979 just north of town. Lyle had loved farming and had a nice herd of charlois cattle. However, they sold the farm and moved into the home where Darlene's parents had lived on W 5th in 1992. After Darlene lost her valiant battle with breast cancer in 2007, Lyle sold that home and moved into Senior Housing in Solomon. He was still very active and enjoyed going to the Senior Center for lunch (when they didn't serve chicken). Lyle was not one who talked a lot about his faith in Christ, he just lived it. He always enjoyed having fun and many a young relative recalls being ‘hooked' by his cane as they walked by him after his accident. Lyle loved history and could give you dates and facts about any event of the past. He enjoyed the research of the Engle family roots and attending the 250th reunion of them coming to America as well as the 150th anniversary of those who moved to the Dickinson County area. He always looked forward to the reunion of his Navy buddies who also served on a LSV. He thoroughly enjoyed the trip for veterans to Washington DC to see the World War II memorial. Lyle and Darlene had four very beloved children – Sharon Louise born in 1950; Karla Jean born in 1951 in the midst of the big flood; Lynn Robert born in 1953; and Jerri Jo born in 1954. Lyle was always very independent and didn't really like to depend on others for help but he learned in recent years that it was okay to let others do for him. He agreed with his children when they thought he should move to Minneapolis this year to an assisted living facility and adjusted very well to his surroundings. He maintained his sense of humor to the very end.