Lyle Clark Brown, 91, of Tulare, SD, passed away Friday, November 3, 2023, at Community Memorial Hospital Avera in Redfield, SD. 

   Visitation, with family present, will be from 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 7, 2023, at Hyke Funeral Home in Redfield.  A prayer service and time of sharing will begin at 6:30 p.m.

   His funeral service will be at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, November 8, at First Presbyterian Church in Wessington, SD, with Reverend Keith C. Kraft officiating.  Burial, with military honors, will follow at Wessington Cemetery in Wessington.  After the burial, lunch will be served at the church hall.

   The funeral service will be live-streamed on the funeral home’s website below Lyle’s obituary.  Arrangements have been entrusted to Hyke Funeral Home (www.hykefuneralhome.com).

   Lyle was born to Byron “Judd” and Alice (Dessonville) Brown at a farm north of Wessington on February 10, 1932.  He graduated from Wessington High School and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force.  After discharge, he worked in a Mobil service station in Wessington from 1954 to 1955.  Then, from 1955 to 1964, he worked in a station owned by his father in Wessington.  In 1964, he moved to Lemmon, SD, and became a state game warden.  In 1965, he moved to Redfield to work as a game warden.  In 1973, he became a liquor salesman and did that until 1986, when he bought a beer wholesale business.  The beer business was sold in August of 1988.  After a trip to each coast, Lyle started selling insurance and also sold monuments for Rausch Brothers Monuments Co. for 27 years.

   On August 9, 1953, Lyle married Mardelle Yvonne Major in Wessington, the daughter of Guy and Gladys (Keller) Major.  Together, Lyle, Mardelle, and their son Rick had a family country western band from 1971 - 1976.   They called themselves “The Charley Brown Country Band,” and Lyle sang and played guitar.  In 1976, they became a 5-piece band with the addition of Bob and Lucy Styles, and they all played together until 1981. 

   Over the years, Lyle’s interests have included game conservation, hunting, fishing, music, horseshoes, watching TV, and traveling.  When he was younger, he had an offer from the Chicago White Sox to play baseball but had to decline because of an injury.  Lyle was later inducted into the South Dakota Baseball Hall of Fame in Lake Norden, SD.

   Lyle is survived by his loving wife Mardelle; children:  twins Steve (Anita) Brown of Jacksonville, FL and Douglas Brown of Rapid City, SD, Rick (Tamra) Brown of Belle Plain, MN, and Gerald (Wendy) Brown; six grandchildren:  Christopher, Kenneth, Brenda, Stephanie, Cody, and Tyler; and six great-grandchildren. 

   He is preceded in death by his parents and sister Evelyn.