Lyle began working in the State Climatology Office when it was a division of the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey within the UW-Extension — a time of typewriters, carbon paper, interdepartmental mail, and later, fax machines!
Now a decade into retirement, his chief service to the office is as one of the Madison lake-ice on/off observers. As a musician, he has been the University Carillonneur for nearly 40 years and plays the organ and piano for weekly services at two Madison churches.