Novinski, Lyle Frank

Lyle Novinski, husband, father, artist, designer, and professor of art, passed away in his sleep on April 28, 2023. Lyle was a man of remarkable talents, warmth, insight, pluck, generosity, vision, body, heart, and soul. He wove all of these into a distinctive tapestry merging family, faith, and vocation into a lifetime devoted to creating visual beauty in a way that actively formed the communities that enjoyed his gifts, whether in the Novinski home, in classrooms, or in sacred spaces.

Lyle was born June 23, 1932, second son to Raymond and Dora Novinski, in Fennimore, Wisconsin. He grew up in the small town of Montfort and went to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in 1950. The Korean War interrupted Lyle’s studies (he was forever proud of serving, donning his uniform every Veteran’s Day). Lyle returned to Platteville and finished undergraduate degrees in Industrial Arts and English in 1956. After Platteville (where he was named a Distinguished Alumnus in 1995), he completed graduate degrees at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (M.S. in Art Education and M.F.A. in Painting). Lyle continued to spend his summers leading Scouting at Canyon Camp and is still revered there today for the legacy of traditions that he started and the future leaders he developed. A connection from Camp led him to Marquette University (and eventually to his future wife, Sybil Weber) in the fall of 1958.

Lyle and Sybil Novinski moved to Texas in 1960 and over their careers, were instrumental in shaping the University of Dallas, then a very new Catholic university in Irving. Lyle served as a professor and chair of the art department for decades, guiding young artists for well over fifty years. He was also an essential driving force in establishing the University’s Rome study-abroad program. This former Camp Director was always ready with a new project that could change a person’s life while transforming the campus. Whether in working to adapt mundane spaces into sacred ones, or in building walls, paths, landscaping, and planting trees, Lyle worked alongside the students. Lyle Novinski’s professional legacy as a prize-winning painter and sought-after designer of sacred spaces lives on throughout the University but also in the churches of the DFW metroplex and beyond. He was a near constant writer – a published poet, also producing, essays, memoirs, and messages.

Lyle is survived by Sybil, his wife of 63 years; son, Michael and wife Lisa Yager; son, Gregory and wife Brenda; daughter, Sybil Sutton and husband Sean; son, Stefan and wife Donna Marquet; and son, David and wife Kristy; as well as by eighteen grandchildren and spouses, and three  great-grand daughters. He was predeceased by his father, Raymond and his mother, Dora; his wife’s parents, Maurice and Marie Weber; his brother, Dennis and wife Elizabeth; brother, Cletus; sister, Irene Murray; and brother-in-law, Reece Weber and wife Donna. He leaves behind their families as well as his brother, Clement and wife Susan; brother-in-law Kenneth Murray, sister-in-law Lynda (Cletus), brother-in-law, Michael Weber and wife, Nancy; and numerous beloved nieces and nephews and their families across the country.

There will be a memorial interment service for Lyle at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Fennimore, WI at 10:30 AM on Saturday, October 5th.