Samuel Ray Lytle

Samuel Ray Lytle was born November 15, 1946, to Marvin and Geraldine Lytle in Enid, Oklahoma. He passed away from this life to his Heavenly home on Monday, May 16, 2022, at Hillside Medical Lodge in Gatesville, Texas.

Following his parents’ ministry, Sam’s family left Oklahoma and moved to California, Alaska, and Tyler, TX where he graduated high school in May,1965. The family then moved to Austin, TX where he joined the U.S. Navy in November 1965. He was stationed in San Diego, California for basic training. He was transferred in 1966 to the U.S. Naval Hospital Corps School in Great Lakes, Illinois where he completed training as a hospital corpsman. He was then transferred to Charleston, South Carolina. Following two years in active duty, he returned to Austin, TX and completed four years in the reserves, and received an honorable discharge in 1970. He worked in carpentry and plumbing with his father and brother-in-law, Jim. He also worked at Texas Instruments’ facility chemical storage and handling and then completed the rehab program at Victory Outreach in Austin, Texas where he spent many years working in their ministry.

Due to illnesses and the need to be treated at the VA, he moved to Temple, TX. As his health declined, he was admitted into the VA hospital under hospice care where his life expectancy was six months. Even during this difficult time, he daily assisted the chaplain in comforting others. Through excellent care and many prayers, he was discharged three years later to the care of Hillside Medical Lodge where he lived another ten years. There, he continued to receive superb medical care and support as he battled cancers and end-of-life challenges. During his last days, he continued to be a blessing to the clients and staff through his ministry.

As a young child, Sam was very inquisitive, showed “no fear”, and was constantly curious about his surroundings. He demonstrated his love of figuring out how things worked, and testing revealed he even had an IQ near genius. He loved to put things together and solve puzzles/sudoku. He had a love of learning that he carried throughout adulthood.

Some of Sam’s passions in life included music and his dedication to helping others. He played the piano, the clarinet, and the guitar. He could always be heard singing and ministering to others. He enjoyed sharing God’s message of love and music. He had a devotion to serving others and could even be seen delivering newspapers in his wheelchair at Hillside Medical Lodge. There, he was voted Patient Advocate President and faithfully fulfilled this role until his death.

He is proceeded in death by his parents Marvin and Geraldine Lytle and his brother Timothy Lytle.

He was a brother to Daniel, Marva "Dee Dee" Huckabee, Timothy, Stephen, Jon Mark, and Jonathan David. He had one brother-in-law, Jim Huckabee. He had many nieces and nephews as well as many great and great-great nieces and nephews that all loved him immensely. He looked forward to the family gatherings in Manor where he could visit with each and every person and take lots of pictures. Everyone will miss him dearly!

Relatives and friends of the family are invited to attend a visitation from 5PM-7PM on Friday, 5/20/22 at Weed-Corley-Fish (2620 S. Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78704). His funeral services will be held at Trinity Chapel Church (5201 Martin Ave, Austin, TX 78751) on Saturday, 5/21/2022 at 11:00 AM. Graveside services will follow at Onion Creek Memorial Park (11610 Chapel Ln, Austin TX 78748).

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.wcfishsouth.com for the Lytle family.