Edgar Lyle

Edgar Rochford Lyle II died on April 6, 2023, at the Care Center of Honolulu, where his wife, Janet, could visit him almost daily for his last 15 months.

Though he never moved his membership from Hong Kong Friends Meeting, he was a faithful and active attender at Honolulu Friends Meeting. Besides serving as archivist and on the Peace & Social Concerns committee, he baked a cake for every 4th Sunday lunch and read the names of Friends who had birthdays that month. Edgar gave thoughtful and inspiring messages in meetings for worship, even after a stroke made speaking difficult. Unable to sing any longer, he whistled along with the hymns.

Born in 1934 in Somerville, Massachusetts, Edgar finished his high school education at Le Rosey in Switzerland. He had a Liberal Arts degree from the University of Chicago and an M.A. in Linguistics from Columbia University, with a specialization in TESOL.

Edgar spent most of his career teaching Chinese students English, a language that was much in demand as China recovered from the Cultural Revolution and reconnected with the world. Janet recalls that he was a devoted teacher, but so kindhearted it hurt him to assign grades to his students. He taught at several schools, including the Macao Polytechnic Institute and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. It was in Hong Kong that he and Janet met in the late 1980s as they commuted on the ferry. Janet came to Hawaii to pursue a degree and Edgar followed. They were married in 2004.

Janet says that Edgar was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War and did alternative service in a laboratory. He also became drawn to Quakerism at that time. Besides Janet, Edgar is survived by ex-wife Katherine, daughter May Anne, son Lorin, and grandsons Brooks and Sinjin.