Lyle John Lathrop

Lyle John Lathrop, 84, of Spring Valley, died peacefully at St. Margaret’s Hospital in Spring Valley with his family on December 31, 2017.

Mass of Christian burial will be 11:00 AM Friday in Nativity of Our Lord Church in Spring Valley (Richard Mautino Dr.) with Rev. Gregory Jarzombek OSB officiating. Burial will be in Valley Memorial Park with military honors.  Visitation will be in the church on Friday from 10:00 AM until time of services. The Hurst Funeral Home is handling his arrangements.

Lyle was born in Spring Valley on January 8, 1933 to Lyle and Margaret (Thelen) Lathrop.  He married Jean Nestler on October 25, 1952.

Prior to entering the Army, both Lyle and Jean worked at Westclox.  He served in the Army during the Korean Conflict between 1953 and 1955, and was stationed in Germany.  He was a military driver and artillery spotter. Lyle earned a Sharpshooters Badge using an M-1 and .45 caliber submachine gun.

After his discharge from the Army, Lyle attended DeVry to learn computer engineering.  While in the computer industry, he worked for companies including Univac, NCR, and Varian Data Machines. Later Lyle entered the real estate field, earning both his Realtor’s License and his Broker’s License in California.  After much success in real estate, and when the market took a downturn, he then branched out managing a Patio and Lawn Furniture Store in southern California, where he also proudly collected several celebrity athletes' autographs.  All the proceeding jobs resulted in moving over thirty times.  Over the course of 30 years, Lyle and Jean lived in Minnesota, Ohio, California, Arizona and Iowa before settling back in Illinois in 1988 where he finished his work career at Wolohan’s Lumber until he retired at the age of 65.

Lyle was an avid sports fan all his life.  He followed the Lakers when they were first in Minneapolis, MN.  He loved the Cubs and was fortunate enough to see them win the World Series in 2016.

Lyle loved taking pictures of both scenery and people and over the years has amassed hundreds of slides and pictures, dozens hanging on the walls of his house today.  Lyle also loved Cuckoo clocks, with his first clock purchased in Germany when in the service, which still hangs and operates in his house today.  He added many other cuckoos, both big and small, to his collection over the years.

Lyle is survived by one son, Ronald Lyle (Shawn) Lathrop of Spring Valley and one daughter Peggy Jean (Michael) Ward of Spring Valley; grandson Brandon Michael Robinson, granddaugthers, Kimberly Jean (Rob) Burkman, Katelyn Rose (Josh) Hayungs, Emily Colleen Lathrop, and Melissa Jean Lathrop.

He was preceded in death by his wife Jean on February 11, 2008, his eldest daughter Patricia Ellen (Lathrop) Robinson, and his eldest granddaughter Jennifer Jean Robinson.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Spring Valley Hospice.

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