Lyle Congdon

Lyle Congdon, age 75 of Decatur, MI went to be with our Lord Jesus on July 31, 2016 at home. He fought a heroic battle with melanoma and acute mylogenic leukemia for over one year. He was born the son of Guy and Ruth Congdon, both deceased. Lyle attended West Valley School in Decatur Michigan for his elementary years. After graduation, he worked for Maple City Dairy driving the semi back and forth from Paw Paw to Benton Harbor. He then married Joyce Cole, and she survives. He had welding school and then he decided to buy the old Blacksmith shop from Bert Kidman located behind Hardings Market. Then he got a job at Rudy Manufacturing in Dowagiac. He was working both jobs for some time. Next, he moved his equipment to his home on Valley Road and sold the building to Hardings for a parking lot. Lyle worked at Rudy, which was sold to Sundstrand, then to Modine and finally to National Copper. He worked a total of 37 years there until he retired, which was mostly spent in the toolroom. Lyle and Joyce were married for 54 years. They had 3 wonderful children: Bonnie Lynn Schoff (John) of Decatur MI, Robyn Marie Schwartz (Tony) of Colon MI, and Steven Lyle Congdon (Tami) of Marcellus MI. He leaves one brother, Gale Congdon, husband of the late Josie Congdon of Decatur MI; and one sister, Marilyn Congdon Smith (Gerald) of Meadow Vista, CA. He leaves 6 grandchildren. They are: Summer Koubaitary (Gabriel), Amberly Schoff, Skyler Schaff, Kevin Beebe, Jared Beebe and David Congdon. He also leaves 4 great grandchildren as follows: Koriander Koubaitary, Sebastion Koubaitary, Kailee Beebe, and Ada Rose Jackson. He leaves 4 nieces: Tracy Schiller (Mike), Leonda Shroyer (Joel), Janet Gee (Marty), and Julie Turk (Andy). He also leaves 6 nephews as follows: Dale Lee Congdon, Lorne Robinson (Robin), Dale Ray Congdon, Edward Robinson (Karen), Michael Bowers, and Greg Cole. Lyle had many hobbies. He bowled on several leagues and even had a perfect game of 300. He was a square and Round dancer. He had scuba certification. He loved to dive in the Caribbean waters and Cozumel, Bonaire, and Australia. His favorite sport was golf. He had 3 holes in one. He was an avid golfer. He played 3 times a week up near the end of his life. He played in several different groups and many different golf courses in Michigan and Texas. He was also a great shuffleboard player. He became a member of Decatur Bible Church in 1977. He was an AWANA leader for 27 years. He loved helping the kids learn Bible verses. Some might say he was an honorable man, but he said he was just a sinner saved by grace. After retirement, he and Joyce spent many years wintering in Texas. They also did some traveling. They went to Hawaii through their timeshare. They also visited Jamaica, St. Martin, Aruba, The Bahamas, Bonaire, Puerto Rico, Barbados, France, Switzerland, Italy, England, Amsterdam, Turkey, Greece, Belize, Germany, Australia, and Mexico several times. He was a loving husband and will be dearly missed by all. Friends may call Wed. 6-8pm in the Decatur Bible Church, where funeral services will be held 11am Thurs. with Pastor Steve DeGroft officiating. Burial in Lakeside Cemetery Decatur with Masonic Rites conducted by Peninsular Lodge No. 10 F. & A.M. of Dowagiac, of which he was a member and was a life member and past master of Decatur Lodge No. 99 F. & A.M. Memorials may be made to Decatur Bible Church, Am. Cancer Society, or Heartland Hospice. Arrangements by Newell Funeral Home Decatur.