Lyle Howard Burhans

January 16, 1943 – August 18, 2025

Lyle Burhans: An Adventurous Life Well Lived

Blue skies and water on three sides, an orange and white checkerboard the size of an outdoor movie screen, low altitude 47-degree turn to the right, two nautical miles down, skimming apartment buildings along the way, in a metal bird with a 156-foot wing span, until a final touch down…We like to think that that is how Lyle Howard Burhans left us on August 18, 2025, at age 82, flying the infamous Kai Tak approach in Hong Kong and then taking off for heavenly skies and eternal tailwinds.

Always up for an adventure, Lyle was born in Janesville, Wisconsin, on January 16, 1943, the son of Jim and Lucille Burhans. He was named after two of his uncles, had an older brother named Jerry and was always ready for fun.

Born into a mechanically inclined family, Lyle spent many summers at Indian Trails Scout Camp learning, growing and eventually attaining the highest rank of Eagle Scout. A short-lived high school “career” playing football and pole vaulting in track, his true adventure began when he met Judy Babler in 8th grade. Having fun with friends during the late 50s and early 60s, their love grew and culminated in a 1966 wedding.

Lyle was a good student and, after graduating, went to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. He struggled finding a career direction there so after two years, he quit college, went back to Janesville and decided to study airplane mechanics at what is now Blackhawk Technical College, a vocational school. At the same time, he also earned his private and commercial pilot’s licenses.

When United Airlines came to Janesville to interview for mechanic positions, Lyle realized he would rather be a pilot and put the word “Pilot” at the top of the application. Six weeks later, United called him for a pilot interview, and they hired him. He began his 38-year airline career in 1964 – an adventure of a lifetime during the golden age of the airline industry.

Lyle’s initial flight base was in New York City, but after two years, he transferred to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. After moving back to the Midwest, he and Judy got married on January 22, 1966. She was teaching elementary school in Crystal Lake, Illinois, so they moved there and lived in an apartment until their house was built, in a subdivision with several young pilot families. In 1968, Lyle and Judy’s daughter, Tara, was born, and five years later in 1973, their son Jon.

Lyle’s career advanced as he flew varied sizes of aircraft and was in different seats in the cockpit. At age 33, he received his first captain bid, which was unfortunately short-lived because of the soft economy, so he went back to being a copilot. Several of his friends threw him a “pity party,” giving him a tough time about losing his position as captain. He eventually got another captain bid and grew into an excellent leader in the cockpit as well as a Line Check Airman, who evaluates other pilots on safety and qualifications for specific roles and aircraft. He ultimately traveled the world, worked with thousands of fellow pilots and crew members and flew the most advanced commercial aircraft, including the Boeing 777, which at the time was state-of-the-art.

Lyle filled his free days with camping, volleyball, sailing, scuba diving, tennis and inventing things, and he loved his toys. He bought a Voyager 12 motorcycle and in September 1987 along with Judy, drove to the West Coast, driving through state and national parks for over six weeks, and later the following spring, driving it back to Illinois from the West Coast.

In 1993, Lyle and Judy moved to their house on Norris Lake, in Deerfield Resort outside of La Follette, Tennessee. Lyle helped build their house right alongside the hired builders and loved every minute of it. For 28 years, Lyle and Judy enjoyed hosting friends and family there, playing on the lake all day, waterskiing, golfing, playing tennis and pickleball, flying out of Deerfield’s tiny airstrip, watching fireworks, and more.

In 1996, Lyle had the opportunity to work a special flight route for United in their 767s from Hong Kong to New Delhi, India, but had to be on-site in order to do it. Lyle and Judy jumped at the chance to experience that area of the world while Lyle was stationed in Hong Kong temporarily for three months. They explored Hong Kong; China – including the Great Wall; Phuket, Thailand; and the island of Bali.

After the Hong Kong adventure, Lyle flew 747-400s, United’s largest aircraft, to Europe, Asia and Australia. Judy joined him on several trips, with one special trip to Australia to celebrate their 25th anniversary in 1991. After traveling Europe and Asia, Lyle and Judy purchased a motor home so they could see more of the U.S. Lyle drove their RVs over the next few decades through 49 states (including Alaska) and Canada.

Lyle’s last flight with United was round-trip to Sydney, Australia, in December of 2002. He officially retired in early 2003 with over 25,000 hours of flight time and the highest seniority of all United pilots – #1 out of ~10,000 pilots! Quite an amazing career for a young guy from Janesville, Wisconsin, who loved to fly.

Like his dad and other family before him, Lyle and Judy’s son Jon grew into an excellent mechanic, particularly with cars, and could fix just about anything. He joined Lyle and Judy in the Knoxville area in the late 90s and moved back to Illinois at the end of 2016.

Their daughter Tara ultimately moved to Columbus, Ohio, and married Keith Kuisick in 2002. In 2005, they were blessed with triplets – Kelly, Zachary and Emma. Lyle got to see his love of music shine through all three grandkids through many band and choral recitals as well as theater and musical productions. Emma’s love of volleyball, and Kelly’s love of animals echoed his, and Lyle’s wit and love of adventure live on in Zach, who is studying to become a commercial pilot like his grandpa.

Over the years, Lyle enjoyed six grand dogs – Jon’s four Boston Terriers, and Tara and Keith’s two chocolate labs – as a lover of dogs throughout his life. All six dogs adored him, with two of the dogs (Boston Mikey and lab Kona) becoming locally famous for fetching dummies off their dock every summer.

Lyle’s fun-loving, inventive, silly but kind nature made him friends all over the country and world. He never knew a stranger. Lyle’s wife, children, grandchildren, dogs, family, friends and adventurous life brought him immense joy. He was always the first to say how truly lucky he was, and we know how truly blessed we are for having had him in our lives. He was loved deeply and will be dearly missed.

We will celebrate Lyle’s adventurous life in September in Janesville, Wisconsin, with family and friends.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to either of these worthy organizations in memory of Lyle Burhans:

• Experimental Aviation Association (EAA) Aviation Foundation

Online: eaa.org/foundation/giving-opportunities

Phone: 920-426-6150

Mail: EAA Aviation Foundation, P.O. Box 3861, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3861

• Tom and Sandy Shoemaker Family Fund for Alzheimer's and Dementia Research and Care at The Ohio State University https://giveto.osu.edu/makeagift/details/316860?Source_Code=AGAG-OTH-S-ON-GivingHome