I was born in Big Timber, Montana on June 22nd, 1937. My ancestors were mostly second-generation Norwegians all lured by the Northern Pacific Railroad with a promise of cheap or free land. It was said that these early Norwegian settlers could raise a band of sheep on a flat rock, these were the settlers who spelled the end of the cattle barons.
I spent my early years on ranches in the river valleys and stalking the wild game that abounded. As a child of the Great Depression, we simply learned to do without material things. Warm shoes and coats had simply not been invented yet. Snow shovels were plentiful.
I attended some little one-room country grade schools and graduated from high school in 1955. With no land to inherit and nobody hiring I decided to join the U.S. Air Force. I was trained to maintain electronic radio equipment and later television systems and did my thing for the next 27 years. I had a variety of stateside and foreign assignments, some accompanied by family and some without. I was married the day after I turned 21 in Ohio and saw that good woman to her grave 53 years later. We have adjoining plots and a common stone in a local cemetery.
We had two sons to carry on the family military tradition. The older saw service in the Navy during the first Gulf War and the younger is a retired Army Major. We also have a grandson and a granddaughter living in Colorado. Thus, endeth the tale…..
Linda Olness Smith
18 Jun 2022I have intended to call Lyle for a long time. I am so sorry to hear of his death. He was the smartest boy in our class of ’55. I wrote to him some after we graduated. I was married 19 years to an Army officer and have 2 Grandsons, one in the Airforce and one in the Navy (air training)
Rinny Lakin
22 Jun 2022Lyle freely shared with me the family tree, photos. Tracing the family history has been quite the journey.
A wonderful cousin to walk the path with!
Fran Elgen
3 Jul 2022He was a high school friend and classmate of my husband Adrian Elgen. He preceded Lyle in death in 2012. He sent a very nice condolences to me.