Lyle Schofield
(1926 – 2012)

B. Lyle Schofield passed away on Friday, October 5, 2012, in Lancaster. He was 85. His beloved wife, Margene, and daughter, Debra, predeceased him. He is survived by four children, Marvin, Mark, David, and Patricia, 20 grandchildren, and 8 great-grandchildren. He was born in Rupert, Idaho on December 27, 1926, the third child of four born to Vao and Stella Schofield. He served in the US Navy in the Pacific as World War II concluded and then traveled to Uruguay to fill a 2 1/2 year mission for the LDS church. He married Violet Margene Seedall of Rupert on June 6, 1951. They moved to Richmond, Calif where he earned his BS in mechanical engineering at UC Berkeley.

He was hired by the federal government to work as an aeronautical engineer at the Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base. After briefly living in base housing, Lyle and Margene and their two children moved to Lancaster in 1955. He had a distinguished career as an engineer and help test and develop many cutting-edge experimental aircraft including the B-58 Hustler, X-15, X-20 Dyna Soar, and XB-70 Valkyrie, for which he received the USAF Technical Achievement Award. Sponsored by the Air Force, he returned to school and earned a MS in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Southern California. Later in his career at the Flight Test Center, Lyle served as a supervisory engineering manager leading, teaching and mentoring many junior engineers.

After retiring from 29 years of Civil Service with the USAF, he worked for Northrop Corp on the B-2 Spirit (Stealth Bomber) Program. In 2008, he was honored by the EAFB Flight Test Historical Foundation and designated an Eagle. Lyle was a life-long member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon) and served in many leadership positions, including bishop. Lyle will long be remembered by friends, family and associates as a talented and dedicated engineer, loving and devoted husband and father, and a person who lived his life by example – faithful and true to his convictions and beliefs.