J. Frank Pyle

Joseph Franklin Pyle was born Sept 22, 1939 in West Grove, Pennsylvania. His parents, Paul and Josephine Pyle, taught Frank and his four younger siblings the principles of honesty, integrity, and persistence which guided his life. In 1957, Frank graduated valedictorian of Avon Grove High School where he served as Student Council president. During his time in high school, he lettered in four sports, played in the band and participated in an award-winning brass trio in addition to working daily in his father’s greenhouses. Most importantly, Frank surrendered and dedicated his life to the Lord and actively participated in Youth for Christ. Subsequently at Taylor University in Indiana, his involvement in a trombone trio allowed him to travel across Indiana and in Great Britain as a part of an evangelistic gospel team.

After graduating from Taylor in 1961 with a degree in business, Frank returned to Pennsylvania to manage the family greenhouses. After two years, he joined Shell Oil where he spent ten years in New Jersey, Illinois, and finally in Texas. Utilizing his years of marketing experience, Frank then seized the opportunity to build his own business. For the next 40 years, Frank served his community as a State Farm Insurance agent in Houston. He was truly a Good Neighbor to his many clients and friends until 2015.

In keeping with Frank's desire to serve the Lord through music, he directed choirs in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and in Texas. Even after he retired from directing, he actively participated in the Houston Sinfonietta and in Bayou City Singers. He also joined his brothers, Rich and David, along with a lifelong friend, Wes Soliwoda, in an annual gospel quartet concert in his home town of West Grove, PA. For 60 years Frank served churches in various music capacities, concluding his years of service at his beloved Tallowood Baptist Church in Houston.

Frank will be greatly missed by his wife, Lynn Bains Pyle, and by his children, Julie and Roger Dail of Easley, SC; Debbie and Larry Wedekind of Kingwood, TX; Sam and Lesley Pyle of Spring, TX; Paul and Rachel Pyle of Dublin, OH; Missi Pyle of Sherman Oaks, CA; Meredith and Ben Pedley of Sherman Oaks, CA; and Gordon Pyle of Pflugerville, TX. He was loved by grandchildren Brittany Dail Smith, Brendon Dail, Brad Dail, David Wedekind, Makenna Spencer, Colin Spencer, Carson Pyle, Peytyn Pyle, Ashton Pyle, Mason Pyle, Zooey Pyle; and by great-grandchildren Brynn Wedekind, Mary Jane Wedekind, and Braxton Lewers.

Frank is also survived by his brothers, Rich Pyle (Maggie) and Dave Pyle (Bonnie), and by his sisters, Mary Ann Robinson and Marjorie Ridgway (Duke). He is fondly remembered by his many nieces and nephews. He was succeeded in death by his parents, by his brother-in-law Richard Robinson and by grandson Matthew Wedekind.

Friends who wish may make memorial gifts to either:


Tallowood Baptist Church Music Department
555 Tallowood Dr
Houston TX 77024

or to:

Resolutions Hospice
14521 Old Katy Rd, Suite 240
Houston TX 77079