Obituary of Thomas Roy Kyle

Thomas Roy Kyle, age 82, passed away on February 18, 2023, in McKinney, Texas. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 PM, Saturday, February 25, 2023, at The First Baptist Church on 16 E St NE, Ardmore, OK 73401. Interment to follow in Hillcrest Memorial Park. Tom was born March 1, 1940 to Elven Emmon "Jack" Kyle and Aileen B. Gladden Kyle. He was raised in Ardmore Oklahoma, graduating from Ardmore High School in 1958. He attended college at OSU for one year, then spent a brief time selling shoes before starting his long career with Southwestern Bell (later AT&T) where he began as a stock boy and worked as a lineman before moving into phone repair. Tom was fondly known as “The Phone Man” by residents in the Northeast section of town. When asked about this, he would often say “I didn’t understand the problem about working in certain areas because everybody needs their phone.” Tom proudly served in the Army reserves for 39 years, rising to the rank of Command Sergeant Major before retiring. While Tom was ordained as a deacon at First Orthodox Baptist Church in Ardmore, he also served in many other church positions through the years. He once shared that he wished he could have done more to serve the Lord. He met the lady he fondly referred to as “the right woman”, Maxine Liddle and they married in June of 1963. They made their home in Oklahoma City before settling in Ardmore, where they raised two sons, Tom Jr. and Jim. They later moved to Amarillo where they raised their daughter Karine. After retirement, Tom and Maxine moved to Sherman and attended Cornerstone Baptist Church where Tom served as the only deacon for many years. He was preceded in death by his grandparents and parents, his brother Ronnie Kyle and his grandson Jason Kyle and a nephew Kellen Kyle. Tom leaves to cherish his memories, his wife of 60 years, Maxine, sons Tom Kyle Jr. (Ruth), Jim Kyle (Heidi) and Karine Kyle Baird (Tobin); grandchildren Trey Kyle, Berkeley Kyle, Jacob Kyle and Elissa Baird, Joshua Scribner and Sias Roberson, and great grandchildren Austin and Aurora Kyle, and a host of friends, family and others whose lives he touched. The family will receive friends between 6:00 PM until 8:00 PM, Thursday, February 23, 2023, at St. Mark Baptist Church, 1308 Wilcox in McKinney, TX. Visitation will be held from 9:00 AM until 12:00 PM, Saturday, February 25, 2023, at The First Baptist Church on 16 E St NE, Ardmore, OK 73401, in Ardmore, Okla.