Lillian Wardean Lyles

Lillian Wardean Lyles (nee Sullivan) was born in Aberdeen, MS on March 3,1934. She departed this life on June 4, 2020 following a valiant battle with Covid-19.

Lillian arrived in Cleveland, OH in 1947 on a wave of mass migration that saw millions of African Americans leave the Jim Crow South and its economic cast system of discrimination for a better life. As a teenager, Lillian became a dynamo figure skater and performed at the original Playmore Rink. She is a graduate of John Adams High school, where she studied Latin and stenography. In 1953, she married Charles Edward Lyles and their union produced five children.

Lillian was an extremely hard worker, who at times worked two jobs, sometimes, three. Fond of map-reading, she once applied for a job at the U.S. Postal service, but was turned down. At the time, harsh racial discrimination prevailed. Lillian moved on. She worked cleaning houses in University and Shaker Heights, rising as early as 5:30 am to catch buses and the Rapid Transit in the dead of winter. She sold panty-hose door to door and ran elevators at the legendary Sterling Linder Davis Department Store. She also worked retail and several mayoral campaigns.

Lillian attended Cuyahoga Community College and worked for the Head Start program. She also worked as a geriatric social work aide under the leadership of Murtis H. Taylor.

She was extremely frugal, though she would spend to invest in education. Once, she purchased a set of World Book Encyclopedias to encourage her children to read and be curious about the world.

She was an education stalwart who navigated her children through The Head Start Program, ABC (A Better Chance Program), and Upward Bound. Her labors bore fruit in an extraordinary feat of education and upward social mobility, hardly seen today as her children earned degrees from Case Western Reserve University, The University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Business, Smith College, Brown University, and Howard University. The painful irony of this achievement is her children left Cleveland to pursue opportunity elsewhere.

A patron of both visual and performing arts her passions were acquired by her son John, who is and artist and poet.

Lillian’s legacy of hard work and achievement extended to her grandchildren—Maya Lloyd, Duke University (BS and MBA), and Robert Edwin Harley III, an honors atmospheric science and math major at North Carolina State University.

Lillian retired in 1999 after 18 years as a member of the housekeeping staff at Case Western Reserve University. She enjoyed going to movies, picnics and fast food lunches with her sons Scharlton and John. She resided in Cleveland and later moved to Maple Heights, where she participated in multiple activities sponsored by the Senior Citizens Center.

She was a great lover of animals and would harbor a stray in a heartbeat—even borrow pets long-term from her children. From Chagrin Falls to the Bear Creek Watershed, Lillian enjoyed riding Cleveland’s Emerald Necklace with her daughter, watching ducks, deer, and other wildlife. She studied Buddhist teachings with the International Value Creation Society (SGI).

Lillian’s character was rare. She helped others by proactive offer, not request. She emphasized by deed, not word, what was right and what was good. She was sacrificial, kind, generous, and loving. Lillian was possessed of quietude, gentleness, and most of all a kindness that will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved her. She was pure and good and was always motivated by the desire to do the right thing and care for others. Lillian was a Christian who raised her children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. One of her proudest moments occurred on April 4, 2014 when she attended the Stephen Ministiry commissioning ceremony of her daughter, Linda. Linda joined over 600,000 trained and commissioned crisis Christian counselors, worldwide.

She is loved beyond life.

Lillian is preceded in death by her son, Scharlton Lyles and is survived by one son, John Lyles, and three daughters, Linda Lloyd of Cleveland, Charlise Lyles of Plano, TX (son-in-law Raymond Brown), and Beverly Lyles of Silver Spring, MD, two Grandchildren Maya Lloyd of Providence, RI and Robert Harley III, of Silver Spring, MD, a niece, Janice Lyles, her cousins Challiceanne and Winston Cooperwood of Toledo, OH and James Lockett of Aberdeen MS.

Lillian is loved beyond life and her family is grateful to all those who prayed for her and walked with us in the rain throughout the brief course of her battle with Covid-19.

As an expression of sympathy the family requests memorial contributions be sent to The Single Parents Fund, New Life at Calvary Church, 7820 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44103.

A private memorial service is planned.

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