Johnie Franklin Lyle, 92, of Huntsville, AL went home to be the Lord on October 1, 2021. Johnie was born in McMinnville, TN on May 21,1929.After graduating from Rison High School in 1950 he entered the U.S. Army. After returning from Service he was employed with Missile Defense Agency before moving to NASA at Marshall Space Flight Center at its inception in 1960, where he retired in 1985, then returning to work as a contractor with NASA until 1995. He was instrumental in his work on the Saturn program and was highly involved in saving the troubled Apollo 13 mission. Johnie had a wonderful gift of being able able to repair almost anything and took great pride in that ability.
Johnie was preceded in death by his wife of 49 years, Jo Ann Ellett Lyle; his parents, Troy and Julia Lyle; and his sister, Artie Mae Penney. He was survived by his sons, Frank Lyle (Debbie) and Keith Lyle (Lisa); sister, Dorothy Lyle; grandson, Glenn Lyle; granddaughters, Mallory Hooker (Jake), Whitney McLaughlin (Jeremy); four nephews; five great-grandchildren; and his special friend, Pauline Neely. He was also an active member of Calvary Baptist Church.
Visitation will be Tuesday October 5th from 12:00 – 2:00 PM with a service to follow at 2:00 PM in the Chapel at Berryhill Funeral Home with Rev. Jeremiah Cochran officiating. Burial will be at Maple Hill Cemetery.
