Steve Lyell

Steve Lyell, 61, of Dallas and formerly of La Grande, died Jan. 16 at West Valley Hospital.

A celebration of life service will begin at 11 a.m. Friday at Trinity Lutheran Church in Dallas. Visitation will run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday at the Dallas Mortuary Tribute Center. To leave an online condolence for the family, visit www.dallastribute.com.

Steve was born May 20, 1947, in La Grande. He graduated from La Grande High School in 1965 and from Eastern Oregon College in 1969. He finished his master's degree in counseling from the University of Oregon in 1974.

Steve was married 36 years to the love of his life, Jean Baker. He taught school in

La Grande prior to moving to Dallas in 1977. He was a guidance counselor at Dallas High School for 19 years, helping students with their schedules, graduation requirements and applying for scholarships. Steve finished his teaching career at LaCreole Middle School where he taught sixth grade, including speech, social studies, history and drama.

Steve also coached his daughters in softball and coached the high school golf team. He joined the Dallas Volunteer Fire Department in 1981 and received the rookie of the year award in 1982. He became an engineer and later a captain. He was one of the first videographers in the department. Steve also served as a volunteer with Dallas Ambulance as an EMT II. He retired in 1996 after 15 years of dedicated service.

Steve enjoyed riding motorcycles. He rode to the Sturgis (S.D.) Motorcycle Rally in 2003 with several friends from Dallas.

He is survived by his wife Jean; daughters, Kim and her husband, Ray Byrd, Kiva and her husband, Brian Gaither, and Kari Lyell; brothers, Johnny Lyell and Erik Hutchison; mother-in-law, Nita Baker; and six grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his mother, Fern Hutchison.

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