HAROLD LYTLE

LYTLE, HAROLD                        

Hometown:  Lawrence, KS

1916:  Lettered.

1917:   Lettered, Starter,  K-Man of the Year

KU's Gold Medal Club in 1967

January 25, 2000

Contact: John Scarffe, KU Endowment Association, (785) 832-7336.

KU athletics receives $130,000 gift

LAWRENCE - An Overland Park man has committed $130,000 for University of Kansas athletics to memorialize his father, a KU alumnus and former basketball player and marching band member, Bob Frederick, KU director of intercollegiate athletics, announced today.

William H. Lytle established a charitable remainder trust that will provide him with an income until his death, and then will endow the Lytle Family Foundation to benefit the Williams Educational Fund in Athletics. The foundation will provide $5,000 in scholarships annually for outstanding basketball players.

"We are extremely grateful for this generous gift from Bill Lytle in memory of his father, Harold Lytle, who was an amazing student-athlete at KU in the early part of this century," Frederick said. "The scholarship money from the Lytle Family Foundation will be a significant help to our basketball program."

Born in Lawrence, Harold Lytle received a bachelor's degree from KU in 1917. As a KU student, Lytle played basketball under Coach W.O. Hamilton and was named K-Man of the Year. He was a playwright, director and actor and wrote and directed the senior class production. A Phi Beta Kappa, he also was a member of the KU marching band and composed band music. His brother, William O. Lytle, also attended KU, where he received a bachelor's degree in 1916 and a master's degree in 1917.

After graduation, Harold Lytle went to work for the Montgomery Ward Company in Kansas City, Mo., and in 1926 he married Birney Heath, a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. He received a master's degree in business from KU in 1930 before the couple moved to Wheaton, Ill., where she taught high school speech and drama and he continued to work for the Montgomery Ward Company in Chicago. The couple had two children, William and Shirley. In 1965, the couple retired and returned to Lawrence. Harold Lytle was named to KU's Gold Medal Club in 1967.

Harold Lytle died in 1978. Two nights later, fans at the KU basketball game observed a moment of silence in his honor. Members of the KU marching band played several of his original compositions at the memorial service. William H. Lytle attended KU for two years and received a bachelor's degree from Northwestern University in 1949. He is a media broker at Media Services Group in Overland Park and a guest teacher at KU. His sister, Shirley Lytle Capps of Mission received a bachelor's degree in speech and drama from KU in 1956.

Lytle is a life member of the KU Alumni Association and its Jayhawk Society. He also is a member of the Williams Educational Fund Executive Club, which honors annual gifts to the Department of Athletics, and the Elizabeth Watkins Society, which honors donors of planned gifts. Lytle has eight children, five of whom attended KU. Michael H. Lytle of Kansas City, Mo., received a bachelor's degree in psychology from KU in 1978. Cynthia Harte of Shawnee received a bachelor's degree in fine arts in 1980. Stephen H. Lytle of Lee's Summit, Mo., attended KU in 1981. Catherine Spencer of Overland Park received a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1983. Christina Stephens of Olathe received a bachelor's degree in human development and family life in 1986. His other three children are Phillip Lytle of Overland Park, Stephen J. Sipe of Wheaton, Ill., and Carolyn M. Pileggi of Israel.

"My father had three great loves: God, family and KU," Lytle said. "This gift for KU was the best way to honor the most extraordinary man I ever met."