Shirley Mae (Barthel) Lytle, 84, of Burwell passed away on Saturday, September 4, 2021, at the Valley County Health System Hospital in Ord.
Funeral Services will be at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, September 10, 2021, at the Baptist Church in Burwell, Nebraska. Pastors Dave Busch, Tom Burkholder and Lamoin Lytle will officiate. Burial will be in the Cottonwood Cemetery at Burwell. Visitation will be held on Thursday from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Church. Memorials are suggested to the Gideons International or New Hope Assembly of God Church at Burwell. Ord Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
Shirley was born on April 30, 1937, to Carl and Iva (Boetcher) Barthel. She was the third of seven children. Shirley grew up on a ranch north of Burwell where her work ethic was engrained. She and her siblings all knew how to put up hay with Bonnie and Clyde, their work horses. She attended Blake country school and graduated in 1954 from Burwell High School.
Shirley married her high school sweetheart, Lloyd Lytle, on June 10, 1955, in Burwell. They ranched and farmed until they moved to Renton, Washington. They lived in Renton until Lloyd was drafted into the US Army. After his military tour, they moved back to Nebraska to work for Shirley’s parents. In 1963, Lloyd and Shirley purchased their farm north of Burwell. Shirley taught school for 36 years at Blake, Gold Standard, and Burwell Elementary. She retired from teaching in 1997. She taught Jolene and several close relatives. Although she was very strict, she enjoyed teaching and touched the lives of many students in the area.
After retiring from teaching, Shirley became an Ozark insurance agent. She would travel throughout her designated area in Nebraska and South Dakota assisting others with their life insurance in preparation for their retirement. She was always up for a challenge and won the award for top earnings many times. She retired from Ozark after 16 years, in 2013.
Lloyd and Shirley were blessed with three children, Jolene, Steve, and Scott; five grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren. Shirley accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior as a young girl. She served Jesus in every capacity – from the many Bible studies she participated in to organizing Pastor’s Appreciation Day at New Hope. The scripture she most valued is Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” Her favorite part of any church service was worship time, especially if it included the old hymns. Most days when we would visit her, she would be listening to Jimmy Swaggart.
Shirley enjoyed travelling with Lloyd and their family. They visited most of the 50 states, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Italy, Holland, Austria, and the United Kingdom. She loved spending time with her greats and all their activities.
When she wasn’t teaching or driving to meet clients, Shirley enjoyed cooking meals, gardening, and canning the fruits of our labor – especially the pickles we all loved so much. Her kids were blessed with weeding the garden and dealing with the granddaddy long legs.
When Lloyd and Shirley retired in 2017, they purchased their house on I street and moved to town. Shirley was constantly on the go. When she wasn’t managing the family farm, or watching the birds in her bird feeder, or chasing the squirrels from it, she met with her classmates for monthly Lunch Bunch; had lunch with the girls after church each Sunday; learned to quilt and finished two in a short time; was active with the Burwell Museum Committee, was always ready to play a table game – AND win every time; and there was always a puzzle on the table that she was working on.
Shirley’s last days on earth were spent in Valley County Hospital after an Ischemic stroke. She leaves behind her three children – Jolene Smith of Burwell; Steve (Val) of Ord; and Scott (Shelisa) of Burwell; nine grandchildren, Eric, LaRissa, Dalton, Shelbi, Jordan, Shelden, Jacob, Damon, and Stetsen; eight great-grandchildren, Mykala, Kaleb, Caden, Natalie, Kenize, Chloe, Ethan, and Kaesin; one brother, Rodney (Kathy) Barthel; and a host of relatives and friends.
Shirley was preceded in death by her husband, Lloyd; her parents, Carl and Iva (Boetcher) Barthel; siblings, Carolyn Mullins, Phyllis Keller, Virginia Phillips, Stanley Barthel, Eugene Barthel; and great-granddaughter Kinsley Brozik.
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