Agnes Lyle Bjerke Jan. 12, 1930 - July 6, 2013 Resident of Walnut Creek Lyle Bjerke passed away on July 6, 2013 from health complications just four months after the passing of her husband of more than 57 years, Arthur Bjerke, who died on March 11, 2013. She is predeceased by her parents Eugene and Agnes Thompson and her sister Margaret Hamilton Small. She is survived by her children Guy (Denise), Alan (Victoria) and Lynn (Louise), and her grandchildren Amanda, Brandon, Jessica, Emily, Sarah Reid, David (Claudia) Ogden and great-grandchildren Evan, Tyler and Hailey Ogden. She is also survived by her nieces Phoebe Bell, Thayer (Dick) Weiss, Saralyle "Sam" (John) Antolik, and nephews Joel (Sally) Small and William (Donna) Hamilton. Lyle was born in Liberty, Missouri. She was a member of the Alpha Xi Delta sorority while attending Missouri Valley College. After graduating with a degree in English she moved west to become a teacher in the Richmond Unified School District. She married Art in 1955 and the couple moved their family to Walnut Creek in 1965. She later taught elementary grades at schools in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District before retiring from Mountain View Elementary in 1992. During a sabbatical from teaching in 1986 she worked briefly at Delices Bakery in Walnut Creek and oversaw the construction of their custom home on Ready Road. Lyle enjoyed Sunday night dinners with her family, entertaining friends at her home, organizing family excursions to San Francisco during the Holidays, spoiling her grandchildren, lunching with her retired teachers' group, and watching professional tennis, especially the Grand Slam tournaments, on television. A memorial service for Lyle and Art will be held at 11 a.m. on October 12, 2013 at Oakmont Memorial Park in Lafayette, with a celebration of their lives to follow at their home in Walnut Creek. In lieu of flowers, donations in her name can be made to the Monument Crisis Center at 2350 Monument Blvd., Suite B, Concord, CA 94520.
Published in Contra Costa Times on July 14, 2013