Lyle Berg

Lyle Berg, 89, died the morning of June 4, 2015, from prostate cancer, peacefully at home as he wished.

Lyle Louis Berg was born on March 5, 1926, in Blackfoot, Idaho, the second son of Swan and Elizabeth Miller Berg. The couple divorced when Lyle was just a boy and his mother, who cared for him, died when Lyle was 10. He then lived with various relatives until he enlisted in the U. S. Army Air Force on February 21, 1944. He was called to active duty on June 4, 1944. He served as an aerial gunner in Northern France and Central Europe and he was a sergeant by the time he was discharged in 1946. He earned several medals, including two bronze stars.

Upon discharge, Lyle had his high school equivalency diploma and a choice: farm with an uncle in Idaho or get an education. He chose the latter and received a Bachelor's degree in Education from Western Montana Teachers College in Dillon, Montana, in 1952. He married Elvira (Ellie) Stefanic of Dillon in 1952. They moved to Missoula and Lyle taught English at Missoula County High School for nine years. He earned a Master's Degree in Education from the University of Montana in 1958. Lyle became a principal at Hamilton High School in 1961 and school administration became one of his passions. They returned to Missoula in 1965 where Lyle earned his Doctorate in Education in 1968 after which he worked at UM's Division of Educational Research and Services and later became its director until he eased into retirement in the late 1980s. He loved working in the field with teachers and administrators. He traveled all over Montana, western Canada, Wyoming, and Alaska working on curriculum and school design. "The Educational Challenge: A Handbook for Montana School Board Members," published in 1973 by the Division of Educational Research and Services while Lyle was Director, became recommended reading for all school boards in Montana. He told harrowing stories of air travel on tiny planes with his nervous graduate students, many of whom are legends of Montana education. He traveled Montana to train newly elected school board members for many years.

While Lyle loved his career and his work, he made an easy transition into a long and productive retirement, years he described as the happiest of his life. The family lived in Orchard Homes where there was room for a garden, horses, and space to park a camper, a boat, and a motorcycle. Lyle fished and boated and he and his wife traveled and read. They welcomed sons-in-law into the family, then grandchildren. He served many years on the Missoula Irrigation District Board. He even became pretty good at golf. He and his pals walked 18 holes three times a week, from early spring to late fall, for many years at Larchmont. He even shot a hole-in-one at Linda Vista. He loved ice-fishing at Georgetown Lake with his friend, Tom Marlowe.

Lyle loved new things. Technology? Bring it on. He watched John Wayne movies on his iPad, emailed regularly, and loved the idea of digital music, though his family generally agreed that his taste in music left something to be desired. The Gene Autry Christmas album still haunts some of them. New cars, new foods, new ideas, new politics, new stories, new people, new days. He was always ready to embrace what was coming. He was an optimist, and the lesson he taught those who were paying attention is that there is always something around the corner that is interesting, worthy, that could change our day or our lives or our world. He saw remarkable changes in his lifetime, most of which he considered good, and he believed more positive change was afoot. He lived well, loved and was loved. He did good work and left those who knew him knowing that something good is just around the corner.

He is survived by his wife Ellie, daughter Terri Guthrie and her husband Hamish, Oakville, Ontario, Canada; Tracy Engen and her husband John, Missoula; Leslie Panian and her husband Brian and their children Dustin and Ali, all of Missoula; as well as cousins and nieces. Cremation has taken place and a private family service with military honors is planned at a later date at the Western Montana Veterans Cemetery. Sunset Memorial Funeral Home is assisting with arrangements.

"No day shall erase you from the memory of time." -- Virgil

Read Lyle Berg's Obituary and Guestbook on www.missoulafuneralhomes.com.