Edna Lyle 'Hyatt' Makinen

On April 25, 2020, Saratoga, Wyoming, resident Edna Lyle (Hyatt) Makinen, affectionately called “Howdy” by her family, passed away peacefully in her sleep at the Saratoga Care Center at the age of 101.

Lyle was born on June 15, 1918, to Sherman and Edna (Hart) Hyatt in Telluride, Colorado. She was one of five children.

When Lyle was a young child, her family moved to the town of Carbon near Hanna, Wyoming, where her father worked for the Wyoming Highway Department and helped build the Lincoln Highway. When Lyle was a young teen, she and her family moved to Oregon where her father worked as a timber feller. Her mother worked as a cook. They moved back to Wyoming a few years later, where she attended Rawlins High School.

Lyle met her future husband, Buster Makinen, while he was working with her brother for the Civillian Conservation Corps. They were married July 3, 1936 and were married 70 years before Buster passed in 2007.

The Makinen’s lived in Lamont, Wyoming, and then moved to Colfax, California before moving to Elk Mountain, Wyoming. Lyle took in ironing and sewing and cleaned houses. Buster and Lyle lived in Dixon, Wyoming, for many years while Buster worked for the Carbon County Road and Bridge Department. When Buster transferred to Saratoga, Wyoming for several years Lyle worked at the Saratoga School cafeteria. After retirement, Buster and Lyle made and sold Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls and enjoyed spending time with family and friends. They took many trips, including traveling to Florida to watch a launch of the space shuttle.

Lyle is survived by her daughter Wanda Daniels of Elk Mountain, WY; her sister Norma Hottman of Sacramento, CA; grandchildren Jacki (Robert) Lueoff of Idaho Falls, ID, Susan Smith of Rexburg, ID, Missy Cook of Cheyenne, WY and Jeffrey “Newt” Daniels of Rawlins, WY; 6 great-grandchildren, 13 great-great-grandchildren and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband Buster; daughter Patricia Smith; a grandson John Daniels; brother Ted; sisters Marjorie and Evelyn; nine brother and sister in-laws and a great-great-grandson.

At Lyle’s request, no services were held. A family dinner will be held later this summer.