Lyle D. Njus, 87
Lyle D. Njus, age 87 of Lawler, died Friday, Oct. 15, 2021, at the New Hampton Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
Funeral Services were held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021, at Immanuel Lutheran Church-Crane Creek, rural Lawler, with Pastor Sue Cira officiating.
Interment was held at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Cemetery in Lawler with Dennis Njus, Deb Njus-Heckman, Dawn Njus, David Njus, Eric Njus, and Zach Njus serving as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers were Coral Njus, Chris Thies, Allie Njus, Macie Njus, Nick Njus, Elizabeth Njus, Keira Myers, Samantha Njus, and Nikki Njus.
Friends greeted the family from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021, at Hugeback-Johnson Funeral Home & Crematory in New Hampton. Visitation continues an hour prior to the service at the church on Thursday.
Lyle was born on Oct. 2, 1934, to Joseph and May (Nystel) Njus at his grandparents’ farmhouse near Lawler. He was the oldest of the three Njus children and went to a country school; his family moved into town, where he continued his education and was a member of the Class of 1953 at Lawler High School.
As a school kid, he earned his “pop” money by shoveling coal off train cars both before and after going to class, and that work ethic became a part of Lyle for the rest of his life.
He and his brothers literally built their own farm – hauling in bins and buildings — near Lawler. They raised crops, milked cows, raised chickens and other livestock, and even late in life, when getting around was tough on him, there was no better day for Lyle than one spent on a tractor.
Bleeding ulcers are never fun, but they were worth the pain to Lyle because when he was hospitalized in New Hampton, he met a hospital employee named Bernette Hay. She helped nurse him back to health, babied him a bit, if you will, and when Lyle was released from the hospital, they began dating and fell in love.
They were married on April 28, 1962, at Grace Lutheran Church in Tripoli.
The couple had four children — Dennis, Deb, Dawn, and David — and the Njus kids had a dad who was always there to help them, taught them how to drive tractors, and helped them with a little cash when they needed some.
They will also remember how much fun they had on their vacations to Adventureland, where you could be a mile away and still hear Dad screaming at the top of his lungs as he rode a ride. And Lyle enjoyed going to the amusement park just as much later in life when he had grandchildren.
In addition to farming, Lyle was a rural-route mail carrier sub for many years before taking over the route full-time in 1982.
All told, he delivered mail for more than 42 years before retiring.
Lyle liked to garden and he loved eating his wife’s good cooking, but more than anything, Lyle was a people person. He loved to visit, and when he hauled mail, he brought candy along for the kids and often was invited into a family’s home for a hot cup of coffee. Maybe you didn’t know Lyle when you walked into a room, but by the time you left, you were fast friends.
He loved going to the Waverly Sale Barn for sheep and exotic animal sales, and even when he had trouble getting around, he’d “drive-through” just so he could see what exotic animals were up for sale. Lyle also liked a good bargain. He liked to bargain, and it’s highly likely that he never once paid full price for something.
Lyle was a proud grandpa to seven grandchildren and he was doubly excited when his first great-grandchild, Elizabeth, was born. He and his daughter stayed up and drank Diet Mountain Dews and munched on sour cream potato chips — waiting for the sun to rise so he could start calling his friends and bragging about being a great-grandfather.
One of the saddest days of his life took place on March 29, 2019, when his wife of almost 57 years passed away, but Lyle persevered and still went out to the farm almost every day, picking eggs, raking, and tending to his garden. He was, even in his 80s, a goer.
Lyle belonged to Immanuel Lutheran Church-Crane Creek in rural Lawler and served on the church council for a number of years.
His loss is being keenly felt by all those who knew Lyle, but they also know that he is reunited with Bernette and are grateful for the years they had with this hard-working, yet genial, man who never had to put on any airs.
Lyle is survived by his four children, Dennis (Connie) Njus of New Hampton, Deb (Nick) Njus-Heckman of Lawler, Dawn (Greg Thies) Njus of New Hampton, and David (Lisa Myers) Njus of Lawler; adopted son, Eric (Samantha) Njus of Lawler; seven grandchildren, Eric (Samantha) Njus, Zach (Nikki) Njus, Coral Njus, Chris Thies, Allie Njus, Macie Njus, and Nick Njus; one great-grandchild, Elizabeth Njus; one brother, Orlo (Joannie) Njus of Pine Island, Minnesota; and brothers-in-law, Charles (Connie) Hay and Tom Maus.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Bernette Njus in 2019; brother, Vern Njus; and sisters-in-law, Barbara Hay, Rose Njus, and Betty Maus.
