A Celebration of Life Service to honor the life of Lyle E. Riebe, age 91, of Windom, will be held Saturday, November 9th at 11:00 AM at the First Presbyterian Church in Windom. A visitation will be held at the church one hour prior to the service from 10:00 to 11:00 AM.

Lyle Ernest Riebe was born on September 1, 1933, in Litchfield, Minnesota. He was the only son of Perry and Martha (Flemming) Riebe. A pattern of "Faith, Family, Service" described his life and was set as Lyle attended school in Litchfield. Lyle actively participated in sports, including football, basketball, and track, earning many awards. He met his lifelong love when he was seated next to Roberta Schneiter in English class in 9th grade.

After graduating from high school in 1951, Lyle joined the Air Force. Following basic training, he was stationed in Rapid City, South Dakota. Lyle and Roberta continued corresponding and after a year of long-distance dating, made their plans to marry. They were married on July 12, 1952. It was a marriage that would last 70 years, and result in a family of four daughters and one son. They made their home in Rapid City for the next three years. Lyle attained the rank of staff sergeant and was honorably discharged in 1955. The young family moved to Huron, South Dakota, where Lyle attended Huron College, majoring in Business Education.

In 1958, after graduating from Huron College, Lyle, Roberta and their growing family moved to Windom, Minnesota, where he had accepted a position teaching Business Education at the high school. This proved to be a changing field, as he started his teaching career using manual typewriters, transitioning to electric typewriters and finally computers. In his later years, he was often greeted with "Hi, Mr. Riebe – you taught me to type!"

In addition to teaching, Lyle continued to express his love of sports as he became an assistant football coach and head track coach for Windom Area High School. One of his greatest joys was coaching young track competitors, some of them all the way to the state track meet. Even at age 90+, he was greeted with "Hey Coach!"

In addition to his teaching and coaching, Lyle, along with his wife Roberta, became partners in the ownership of the Pine Inn Drive In, briefly with Bob Hofflander, and for nearly 20 years with Jack and Marilyn Kelly.

Lyle was also active in his church and community. As a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Windom, he served as Sunday School teacher, youth leader, Elder, Deacon, and sang in the choir. He also served as a camp counselor at the Presbyterian Camp on Okoboji. He loved to sing and enjoyed years of participation in the Windom Chordhustlers.

After retiring, Lyle, along with Roberta, decided to participate in Volunteers in Mission. Their first assignment was at Wasatch Academy in Utah. However, they found their true calling at Heifer Project International. For 19 years, they volunteered about 6 months out of every year. They served as Visitor Center hosts as well as leading many small group and larger school tours, sharing the mission of Heifer.

Lyle also loved to travel, and along with Roberta, traveled the United States, visiting friends and family. They also had the opportunity to visit some HPI projects both within the continental United States and internationally. They traveled to both Tanzania and Thailand, meeting people and viewing the work of Heifer first-hand.

Early in the morning of Friday, October 4th, Lyle passed away peacefully in his sleep, at the age of 91. He is survived by four daughters, Marty (Tim) Olsen of Luverne, MN, Carol Bennett of Mesa AZ, Kitty (Willy) Wilson of Avon, IN, and Jan Pryor of Canon City, CO; 10 grandchildren; and 20 great-grandchildren.

Lyle was preceded in death by his loving spouse, Roberta; their son, Randy; and his parents, Martha and Perry Riebe.

Blessed be the memory of Lyle Ernest Riebe.