George Kyle (1-23-11)

George Malcom Kyle, 85, of Greenville, S.C., died Sunday, Jan. 23, at his home.

Born in Hardin County, he was the son of Charles Wesley and Bessie Byrd Kyle of Savannah. He was grandson of Charlie Parker and Ada Carrol Byrd of Counce, and William M. and Louisa Qualls Kyle of Hardin County.

Mr. Kyle graduated from Central High School in Savannah, and graduated from the University of Tennessee with a degree in journalism. He was also commissioned as an officer in the Army Corps of Engineers after he graduated from the Reserve Officers Training Corps. He subsequently completed 13 years of Army Reserve duty.

He was a veteran of World War II, awarded a Bronze Star Medal for combat infantry action in Germany and Austria. He served 10 months in occupation forces in the Philippine Islands after the war, while Japanese troops held out in the mountains of Luzon north of Manila.

Mr. Kyle became United Press International Bureau Chief in Montgomery, Ala., then Chief of Information for the Alabama Department of Conservation, where he edited an "Alabama Conservation" magazine. He received a national professional conservation award in 1958 for a campaign, which helped halt agricultural uses of DDT and other insecticides that killed large numbers of wildlife and song birds in several states.

He worked for the U.S. Forest Service in Atlanta, Ga., and was one of two employees moved to Washington, D.C. upon creation of a National Bureau of Recreation by President John F. Kennedy. The Bureau assisted in creating local, state and federal parks and recreation areas nationwide, the Wild and Scenic Rivers System, National Trails System, National Wilderness System, and several new National Parks and National Recreation Areas. Mr. Kyle developed and edited a monthly "Outdoor Recreation Action" magazine and other materials to provide technical support for these national, state and local programs.

George Malcom Kyle retired in 1990 as Deputy Director of Public Affairs for the National Park Service in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Kyle was a member of Covenant United Methodist Church in Greer and a member of The American Legion Post 3 in Greenville.

He is survived by his wife, Barbara Bryant Kyle, of the home; a son, Charles Bryant Kyle and wife, Susan of Commerce, Ga.; a daughter, Elizabeth Kyle Erickson and husband, David of Cary, N.C.; a grandson, Chris Houck; a great-grandson, Caleb Luce; and a sister, Joan Land of Paducah, Ky. He was preceded in death by a son, George Wesley Kyle and a granddaughter, Stacy Erickson.

Private graveside services will be held in White Sulphur Springs Cemetery in Pickwick Dam State Park, which included land that was formerly the site of the early Kyle family home.