Lloyd Lyda, 81

Lloyd Stover Lyda, 81, died May 24, 2006, at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz., following an unsuccessful open heart surgery.

He had been a resident of Mountain Home since 1994.

A celebration of his life will be held at the Church of the Nazarene on Saturday, June 3, at 1 p.m.

Lloyd was born on May 23, 1925, in Homedale, to John and Mable Lyda. They later moved to Nampa, where he attended school.

During World War II Lloyd served in the Marine Corps, Pacific Theater.

After the war Lloyd went on to earn a degree in education at George Fox University in Newberg, Ore., where he also met the love of his life, Leona. Later he completed a masters degree in education at Oregon State University and a BS at Southern Oregon University.

Lloyd and Leona were married on November 23, 1948. They both taught school in the Oregon school system until retirement.

In 1994 they moved to Mountain Home to spend their retirement years closer to their daughter and grandchildren.

Lloyd loved being a teacher. He started his career teaching at various grade schools in Oregon. In later years he took his love of cars and combined it with his teaching career. He taught automotive repair at Medford High School and later at Eagle Point High School in Oregon. For many years in the '60s he trained Plymouth Troubleshooting teams for national competition. In 1964 his team from Medford High School placed second in the nation. He could always be found helping friends and neighbors with those difficult car problems that only he seemed to understand.

He was a member in many Antique Car Clubs and groups including the Mountain Home Antique Cars.

Lloyd was a regular in the Air Force Appreciation Parade, driving his 1930 Model A car, for his daughter Linda's store, The Unique Boutique.

Lloyd also had a love of music. He played the guitar and the accordion. He was an accomplished singer and had performed since childhood in church choirs and as a soloist.

He is survived by: his wife, Leona; his daughter, Linda, and her husband, Gary Huston; three granddaughters; two great-grandchildren; his two sisters, Goldie Cline and Iverna Lair, and his brother, John Lyda.

He was preceded in death by a sister and brother.