United Banks Service Company

Here are some memories sent by Lyle's friends and colleagues:


When I was still at UBSC, Lyle went in to buy a new car. When the deal was done, they asked how he wanted to pay for it. At the time, we all had 7% VISA cards and he had a big credit line on his so he flipped out his card on the business manager's desk. They looked at him kind of puzzled. He told them to put it on his VISA. He came in the next day with a VISA slip with the VIN number and the amount of the car.

The next day he got a call from his Personal Banker at UB Monaco. "Lyle, you really don't think I'm going to let you put a car on your VISA do you?"

He went in and filled out the paperwork for the car loan. But he said you should have seen the car dealer's face.
-- Russ Brewer


I have lots of fond memories of Lyle. We worked together on lots of conversions and worked through a lot of problems together. He knew how to party hearty, too.
-- Gaylon Kellner


Sorry to hear about Lyle. When I think of him, it's always with that fancy vest he had. Red, was it? With brass buttons. Always wore it to outside meetings... SHARE maybe? Or DP Managers' group or some such?
-- Larry Perkins


When I first moved to Colorado I mentioned to Lyle that it was rather dry. He responded "Yeah, it's good nose-pickin country."
I recall the moment fondly.
-- Mark Creamer


One time we were having lunch at UBSC in the coffee shop, when Lyle was called to the phone. He talked for a couple of minutes and returned to our table to continue lunch. He looked a bit puzzled, so I asked him if everything os OK.
He said, "Well not quite; the call was from the police. They told me that they arrested my teenage son."
I asked, "What the heck are you doing here eating? Why don't you go and get him?"
Lyle looked at me without being disturbed and said, "I will let him learn his lesson first and then I will go and get him."
-- Bea Fittler


I really liked working with Lyle when I was doing the reset on servers and had to climb around those big boxes stacked on one another in the "loft" downtown! Everyone told me to cautious because he was a tough, serious guy. He was always one of my favorites and never failed to get us both grinning when he was teaching me!
-- Donna Roberts


Before United Banks of Colorado and the Service Company , in the early 70's, Lyle, Nat Littlejohn, Russ Pratt, Jerry Slavec, and myself all worked together at Neodata Inc. in Boulder Colorado.

One weekend, around four or five in the morning, (management rarely worked weekends and especially at that time of day), Jerry and I were participating in a chair race against fellow computer operators. I was the lead computer operator that weekend and Lyle managed the Systems Support group. The chair racing consisted of one person sitting on a four wheeled small chair (Jerry), and the other person (me) pushing the chair with the partner hanging on for dear life around an imaginary track the length of the computer room. On this particular morning I was pushing the chair with Jerry on it and was making a hard banked turn too fast, which tipped the chair over with Jerry crashing into a file cabinet when at that same moment in walked Lyle much to our chagrin. Lyle said nothing except he cleared his throat a couple times and just said "Coffee shop!" along with a come here waggle of his finger and he quickly turned tail towards the coffee shop, with me struggling behind to keep up with Lyle's long strides.

In a nutshell it was similar to a father to son tongue lashing - but something I'll always fondly remember. And that was also the end of the chair races.

God bless you Lyle.
-- Jeff Williams


I first met Lyle while working at Neodata. He then brought me down to United Banks and changed my life. Lyle influenced me in so many positive ways. He was a great leader and always knew how to challenge and inspire everyone around him. Lyle always took care of me, and would cut me a lot of slack that I didn't deserve - so many great memories with this amazing man!
-- Jerry Slavec


I met Lyle Hurdel a few years before my time at UBSC. In the last half of the 1960's I was a Program Support C.E. in the IBM Denver South office. On several ocassions I was asked to go solve problems that Neodata was having - even though they were served by the IBM Denver North office. This is when I first met Lyle. His reputation preceded him. Before my first encounter with him, I received reports from other IBMers that led me to believe he would quickly make mince meat of me. I was shaking in my Florsheim wing tips, but I soon realized he simply would not accept any bull muffins from me (or, anybody.) Honesty was the only policy. If I had difficulty solving a problem, he expected me to say so and go find the person that would set me on the right path. He would not permit you to (attempt to) pull the wool over his eyes.

In early 1973, Lyle (and Don Luttrull) convinced me to hire on at UBSC.
-- Marvin Jones