Lloyd C. Lyle III

Sept. 1, 1943 - Nov. 12, 2014

Former Ceres resident Lloyd C. Lyle III passed away at his home in Emmett, Idaho, on Nov. 12, 2014 at age 71.

A memorial gathering was held at Lloyd's and Pam's home in Emmett, Idaho, on Saturday, Nov. 22.

Lloyd was born on Sept. 1, 1943 in Modesto, the first child of the late Lloyd C. Lyle Jr. and Virginia Lyle. He met wife Pam at a Ceres High School dance in 1960. They graduated in 1962 and were married in Ceres later that year.

Lloyd was a skilled carpenter, and worked on numerous jobs in the Central Valley, including on the Stanislaus State College campus and the Delta Mendota Canal. Lloyd's hard and meticulous work was rewarded when a client paid for him to get his general contracting license in 1971. He ran a highly successful building company for the next decade and built many beautiful homes and commercial projects.

In 1975 Lloyd received some dairy cattle in payment for a job and decided to begin a dairy. This led first to him and Pam building a dairy farm from scratch on 20 acres in Ceres. In 1977 they moved to Caldwell, Idaho, where they purchased a 120-acre former homestead, and over the next 10 years they and the boys worked endlessly to turn this decrepit property into a showpiece dairy farm.

Lloyd returned to building after the boys left home. He and Pam founded United Builders in 1991, a business they would run together until their retirement. Lloyd's skill and craftsmanship became well known in the building community of Treasure Valley, and he won several awards for the homes he and Pam created.

Lloyd loved being outdoors. In his earlier years he frequently hunted and fished, and he camped throughout his life. His Belgian draft horses were a special source of pride, especially Shasta and Penny. His dog Lad was his favorite and was sorely missed.

Lloyd was known to his friends, business associates and clients as hard-working, honest, well-liked and fair to everyone he met. Those lucky enough to own one of his homes were invariably the recipient of his generosity, as he always included some extra feature he had crafted with his own hands.

Lloyd is survived by his beloved wife, Pamela; his sons and their wives, Lloyd IV and Sally Lyle, and Loren and Christina Lyle; his siblings and their spouses, Shirley and Allen Terpstra, and Wayne and Kathy Lyle; family members Stephan Manka and Carol Sprague; and lifelong friends Lonnie and Sheila Rowell, and Fred and Connie Campbell.

-Ceres (Calif.) Courier
Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014