Obituaries

Lyle Willan, 90 of Verona, WI left this world on January 18, 2024 after a long illness, at Agrace Hospice Care. His wife, Judy and other family members were at his side throughout his final days. Although his lungs finally gave out, his spirit never wavered, even at the end. He was born October 31, 1933, in Madison, WI, the son of Russell and Caryl Willan. Lyle grew up on the Isthmus, living with his parents and younger sister and brother in the Tenney/Lapham neighborhood, until he joined the United States Navy in 1952.

During Lyle’s service in the military, he served on the minesweeper USS Firecrest during the Korean War, before serving stateside in Long Beach, California. It was during his time in the Navy that he was united in marriage with Judy Ellis on July 10, 1954, at St. Bernard’s church in Madison. After marrying, Lyle and Judy spent the first few years of married life in southern California where they welcomed their first 2 children. Upon leaving the service, Lyle and Judy returned to Madison, settling on the east side of Madison, where they welcomed 6 more children.

After leaving the Navy and returning to Madison, he worked for several local companies, including Gisholt and Oscar Mayer before spending many years working at Madison Newspapers until the Madison newspaper strike. Lyle was then with the Madison Press Connection during its nearly two-and-a-half-year run. He spent many of his post newspaper years at Badger Medical, then as he eased into retirement, worked several summers at Bridges Golf Course.

As Lyle and Judy entered retirement, they happily transitioned to being snowbirds. They spent many wonderful winters avoiding the snow and cold of Wisconsin in the relative warmth of Gulf Shores, Alabama, until health issues forced them to stay closer to home year-round. During their years “down south”, they made a number of new friends among their fellow Midwestern snowbirds. After 40 years in the Emerson East neighborhood on Dayton Street, they began spending the warmer months of the year at their new home in Marshall, before ultimately settling in the Verona area. They’re final years together were spent in a “senior” community where they made many new friends.

Lyle’s faith was important to him. For many years he was a parishioner at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Madison and most recently had been a member of St. Maria Goretti church, also in Madison. When health issues prevented them from attending mass in person in recent years, they faithfully watched mass on television every week.

In his free time, he was an avid fan of the Wisconsin Badgers and the Green Bay Packers. In his final days, he was able to enjoy watching the Packers beat the Cowboys with several of his children. A longtime fan of golf, he enjoyed playing a round as well as watching a tournament on TV. His adventurous spirit found an outlet whenever it could, whether it was riding a roller coaster with one of his grandchildren, or white water rafting well into his 70s. While many people find mowing a chore, Lyle enjoyed mowing the yard on his riding mower. Gardening was a passion.

Even with a large family, Lyle and Judy were able to take them on little adventures. From camping to trips to Door County, the family was able to get away and enjoy time together. Most memorably, Lyle, Judy, and their eight kids piled in the station wagon in 1971 and headed west for a memorable vacation enjoying nature, visiting California family members, and a stop at Disneyland. On his last day together with all his children, he happily reminisced about this trip.

As the years passed, the opportunities for travel increased, ranging from a 25th anniversary trip to Jamaica, trips to Florida, or trips to Spain to visit one of their daughters. In their retirement years, the pace of travel increased, allowing Lyle and Judy to enjoy many adventures ranging from a cruise along the Chinese coast, a tour of Ireland, to a bus tour of New England. Through their many travels, Lyle and Judy were able to visit 21 different countries, sail on many wonderful cruises, and visit all 50 states. Yet, Lyle didn’t need to travel the world to have a fun time – a trip to the casinos in Dubuque or to Ho Chunk Casino in the Dells was enough.

Even as Lyle’s declining health made even a trip to Ho Chunk Casino in the Dells too physically taxing, Lyle remained sharp as a tack up to the end and was able to enjoy visits with all his children, as well as many other family members, in his final days.

Although he didn’t quite make it to his 70th wedding anniversary, the love he shared with wife never wavered. His final wish to his children was that they would help Judy have a good life after he was gone.

While Lyle may be physically gone, his memory will be cherished by those who survive him, especially his loving wife of nearly 70 years, Judy, and his eight children, Kathy (Louis) Olson, Laura (Keith) Rosenau, Susan (David) Thomlinson, Mary Brock, Barb (Neil) Block, Tom (Julia) Willan, Karen (Jim) Clark, and Terry (Carl) Dvorak. He is further survived by his grandchildren Lucas Olson, Erin Olson, Keely (Brelyn) Thomlinson, Derek Rosenau, Siobhan (Rich) Van Horn, Michelle Brock, Michael (Melissa) Willan, Jenna (Ben) Ellis, Elliot Rosenau, Brandon Nickerson, Jeffrey (Kelly) Willan, Kaitlyn (David) Biermacher, Alyssa (Jeremy) Dvorak, and Max (Kalene) Dvorak; great grandchildren Morgan Bradford, Ashlynn Brock, Ky Chu, Emma Meyers, Amelia Sadler, Nathan Van Horn, Caleb Van Horn, Graham Willan, Ava Willan, Aiden Willan, Carly Dvorak, and Harper Biermacher; and great, great grandson James Flecha. He is also survived by his brother Rollie (Ginny) Willan, sister-in-law Barb Abercrombie, and a number of nephews and nieces. He was preceded in death by his father Russell Willan in 1981, mother Caryl Willan in 2014, sister Marilyn “Willie” Greve in 2014, granddaughter Kristen Brock in 2016, and grandson Sam Olson in 2023.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 25, 2024, at St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church, 5313 Flad Avenue, with Father Scott Emerson officiating. Visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. until the time of Mass on Thursday at the Church. Interment with full military honors will follow at Sunset Memory Gardens. Luncheon will follow at Oakmont Senior Community, 841 N. Main Street, Verona (parking is limited).

The family would like to thank the care team at UnityPoint Health - Meriter for taking such great care of him these last few weeks, and the staff at Agrace for their compassion at the very end.

In lieu of flowers, any memorial offerings could be made to Agrace Hospice Care, 5395 Cheryl Parkway Fitchburg WI 53711, or St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital 501 St. Jude’s Place Memphis, TN 38105 St. Jude's Memorial Donations.

To view and sign this guestbook, please visit: www.ryanfuneralservice.com.