Thursday, October 10, 2024
Our most sincere condolence to the family of Lye Monney. I became an acquainted with Lyle 60 years ago at the “bomber plant” beside the Tulsa Airport. We were both new hires at North American Aviation, which was just opening operations in Tulsa using a part of the factory operated by Douglas following producing military aircraft during WW2. We worked in a special projects group called HIDE, that was one of the early pioneers in stealth technology – making aircraft and other objects difficult to spot with radar. Lyle was exceptionally skilled in making things. He worked in the prototype shop turning the weird ideas engineers like me dreamed up into real hardware. Our team was one of the rare groups that continued our friendships beyond the workplace for decades after retirement. The survivors still meet for a weekly breakfast to discuss the good old days and other global issues. Lyle was at our breakfast just a few weeks ago, smiling and joking as always. We also had many happy times together away from the workplace, like a fishing trip to the Gulf of Mexico in a fleet of Mooney airplanes owned by members of our team, including Lyle. Once Lyle provided me with a place behind his barn near Chelsea to hide a sports car project from my wife. It didn’t work, she knew about it before I got home that day. Recently Lyle had been commenting that he would like to meet the guy that coined the phase about these being the “golden years.” Maybe he has now accomplished that. Rest in Peace, Lyle, we miss you.
Bob and Vada Strattan, Tulsa, OK
