Elizabeth L. Lou) Kyle

Elizabeth Louise Kyle (Betty Lou) entered this world in Ann Arbor Michigan on December 12, 1928, and "exited stage left" May 8, 2014. The first daughter of Paul Bryant (Defiance Ohio) and Mary Louise Beiger Bryant (Mishawaka Indiana), Betty Lou graduated from South Bend John Adams High School in 1947. She attended Indiana University where she met the love of her life and soul mate, John Kyle (Gary Indiana). She earned a major in English and a minor in Theater, which became her life's passion.
Betty Lou and John married July 12, 1952 and stayed married for 54 years until John's death in 2006. They migrated to Noblesville Indiana in 1955 where they spent the rest of their lives. Their first child, John, was born in 1954 during law school finals (bad planning). Daughters Kathy (1957) and Amy (1961) rounded out the Kyle clan.
Betty Lou and John co-founded The Hamilton County Theater Guild in 1964 during a play-reading session at the Noblesville Presbyterian Church where John challenged the group to produce a play, not just read one. Over the next 40-plus years, John starred in and Betty Lou directed and starred in over 40 productions at their home away from home - The Belfry - winning multiple Encore Awards from the Encore Association in the process. Many play-goers encouraged John and Betty Lou to move to New York City, which they might have done but for those pesky kids.
In 1968, Betty Lou founded the Apprentice Players wing of the Guild to cultivate interest in theater for children. The Theater Guild and Apprentice Players remain part of the fabric of Hamilton County today. Betty Lou received the E. Edward Green Memorial Award from the Encore Association for lifetime encouragement of the arts in central Indiana in 1999. In 2011, she received the Friend of the Arts award from the Noblesville Cultural Arts Commission, when she was recognized as a "guiding light for the arts" for decades and a "living legend" among the Noblesville theater community.
As important as theater became, what made Betty Lou happiest was just being with her family - her dear sister Paula Smith; her three children and their spouses (Marcia Dunne-Kyle, Steve Abrell, and Tom Bradburn); her grandchildren and their spouses - Kerry Kyle Davies (Ryan), Mackenzie Kyle Williford (Jud), Jordan Kyle, Kyle Abrell, and the Bradburn boys - Kyle, Michael and Grant; and her two great grandchildren - Adelle (4) and Ruby (2) Davies, who perhaps brought Betty Lou her greatest happiness in her later years. Her favorite family times were the annual treks to the family cottage on Mullet Lake in Northern Michigan. As she recently remarked, "it was just such a great joy to get in the car and go North with my family".
What many will remember about Betty Lou was how much fun she was to be around. What young people will remember is her challenging them to follow their dreams.
The Kyle Family will hold A Celebration of Life at The Belfry (10690 Greenfield Ave: SR 238) Sunday May 11. Visitation will be from 2 - 3:30. The Celebration will run from 4 - 5. In lieu of flowers, feel free to make a donation to the Betty Lou Kyle Scholarship Fund (c/o Central Indiana Community Foundation, 615 Alabama St., Indianapolis, 46204). The Fund provides scholarship money to Hamilton County High School seniors who aspire to pursue a college degree in the performing arts.