Lyle D. Sharp

  Lyle D. Sharp, 93, Hilton Head, SC, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family on November 25, 2024. 

  Lyle was born in Chicago on May 25, 1931, to Lyle F. and Irene Frederking Sharp. He grew up in the small midwestern town of Clinton, IL. Just days after his eighth-grade graduation and his fourteenth birthday, Lyle and a friend boarded a train to Chicago where he spent the next two months living in a rooming house and working as a bus boy at a suburban country club.  Later that summer, when he learned that he could make ninety-two cents an hour working on the railroad, Lyle returned to Clinton and spent the remainder of the summer laying rail. In 1949 Lyle graduated from Clinton High School, where he played basketball and participated in other sports. He attended Illinois State Normal University for one year, where he played on the basketball team. Lyle subsequently spent a year working at the Drake Hotel in Chicago before joining the US Air Force for a four-year stint. He spent two years of that time in Japan working in Intelligence at the height of the Korean War. One month after his discharge in July 1955 Lyle enrolled at the University of Illinois where he studied accounting. He graduated with Bronze Tablet honors (top 3% of his graduating class) in August 1957. The following year Lyle passed the CPA exam.

  It was at the University in January 1957 that Lyle was set up on a blind date with Kathleen Rankin, whom he wooed and won in short order. They were married on August 11, 1957, and were a team for the next 67 ½ years.  In the five years following their wedding, they were blessed with three beloved daughters. In September of 1957 Lyle began work for Price Waterhouse & Co. in Chicago. In 1960 he joined Clifford-Jacobs Forging Co. in Champaign, IL, where he spent the next 33 years, rising from Comptroller to President and Chairman of the Board.  While at Clifford-Jacobs he served for five years on the board of the North American Forging Association, including a two-year term as President. He retired from Clifford-Jacobs in 1993 and continued to serve on their board of directors for several years thereafter. Lyle also served on a number of other boards and finance committees including, among others, the Salvation Army, Champaign Chamber of Commerce, First National Bank of Champaign, Carle Hospital and First Presbyterian Church in Hilton Head where he was a member at the time of his passing. 

  When Lyle retired, he and Kathleen began spending winters in Hilton Head, SC and moved there permanently in 2004. They spent summers on Lake Geneva in Wisconsin where they hosted Cousins’ Camp weeks for their grandchildren and enjoyed frequent visits from family and friends.

  Lyle was a lifelong University of Illinois football and basketball fan and loved following the teams to many away games including the Rose Bowl and the Final Four. He particularly enjoyed participating in Tailgreat events held by the University of Illinois Athletic Association in the mid 1980’s. Lyle enjoyed playing bridge, having learned the game in high school, and continued to play when he and Kathleen moved to The Cypress, a senior living community in Hilton Head, in 2018.

  Lyle is survived by his wife, Kathleen Rankin Sharp; his three daughters, Lee Ann (Doug) Glidewell, Julie (Carl) Downs, Lindsey (Dave) McCourt; seven grandchildren, Matthew Deem, Jennifer (Zach) Weaver, Jeff (Britt) Glidewell, Marcy (Lars) Larson, Drew Glidewell, Jonathon (Kristen) McCourt, Paige (Caleb) Grubb, and twelve great grandchildren.  He was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Betty Meyer.

  The Sharp family would like to express its gratitude to the staff of Hospice Care of the Lowcountry and particularly to nurse Andrea Harris for the compassionate care they provided.

  In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Hospice Care of the Lowcountry, 7 Plantation Park Drive, Bluffton, SC 29910 or to a charity of the donor’s choice. 

  A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, February 14, 2025, at 2:00 pm at First Presbyterian Church on Hilton Head Island.