A Celebration of Life for Merline Evans Lyle, 80 formerly of Decatur will be 11:00 am, Tuesday at Garner Memorial C.M.E. Church with the Rev. Steven D. Little officiating and the Rev. Adolphus Elliott Sr., eulogizing.   Inhumation will follow in Sterrs Cemetery. The body will lie in repose one hour prior to funeral.

Merline Evans Lyle was born June 12, 1935 to the late Merlin B and Odessa Breeding Evans in Decatur, Alabama. A loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt and dear friend to all who knew her, She departed this earthly life in Henderson, Nevada and met our Heavenly Father on April 24, 2016.

Mrs. Evans confessed hope, faith and trust in God at an early age. She became a member of Garner Memorial CME Church in Decatur, Alabama. A graduate of Decatur Negro High School, she later earned an Associate’s Degree in Business from Calhoun Technical & Junior College.

Merline married her soulmate, Frank Lyle, Jr. on February 12, 1972. She and Frank brought together eleven children to this union. There was only one earthly love strong enough to change the Alabama native into an Ohio girl; that of her "Darling Frank." Following marriage they relocated to Lima, Ohio. She resigned from IBM Corporation after many years of service and became a full-time homemaker. Upon Frank's retirement in 1999, they returned to Alabama. As residents of Dothan, Alabama, they continued to share a love that is eternal. She loved to cook, garden, fish, leisure piano playing, crossword puzzles and most of all spending quality time with family. To everyone that met her, she was referred to as "such a sweet lady" and was lovable to everyone whose life she touched. 

Mrs. Lyle was preceded in death by her parents, son Dewayne Lyle and grandson Derrick Dobbins.

Mrs. Lyle leaves to cherish her memory: her devoted husband of 44 years, Frank Lyle, Jr.; their children Mary Alice Dobbins, Baton Rouge, LA, Charles E. (Valerie) Dobbins Jr., Mobile, AL, Gloria Denise (Kenneth Wayne) Johnson, Dallas, TX, Roderick G. Dobbins, Henderson, NV, L. Randall Dobbins, Austin,TX, Carolyn A. (Gay) Jackson, Lima, OH, Mary Jane Turner, Patricia Nelson, Miami, FL, Diania (Robert) Rowe, Barbara (Dorian) Ware, and Keith (Constanta) Lyle, Pontiac, MI; grandchildren, Theodore (Kimberly) Jackson,II, Michael D. (Shana) Jackson, Shanna Dobbins, James (Tasha) Lane, Jr., Charla (Terence) Dobbins-Adams, Curtis Bryant(Brittney), Erika (Moses)Semakula, Latoya S. (Jeremy) Henderson, Breeland R. Dobbins, Randall A. Dobbins, Bryce Dobbins, Brodi Dobbins, Latonya Jackson, Melissa Cowell, Christopher Jackson, Dion Jackson, Justin Turner, Julian Truth, Mylea Hall, Ross Rowe and Dennard Ware; three sisters, Gwendolyn E. Dobbins, Nashville, TN, Toni E. Shine, Ponoma, CA and Gloria E Smith, Cincinnati, OH; 38 great-grandchildren and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. 

Flower Bearers will be Missionaries/Stewardess. Pallbearers will be Breeland, Bryce, James and Randall A. Dobbins, Michael, and Theo Jackson.