Cleon Lyles (1914–1989)

Gospel preacher listed in Preachers of Today, Vol. 1, 1952, 207. Arkansas gospel preacher, evangelist, lecturer and author. Cleon obeyed the gospel and was baptized by the late J. Harvey Dykes in 1930. He began preaching at Rector in 1931. He was persuaded to come to Fort Smith by Will Slater and James E. Laird and work at the children's home dairy, attend school and learn Bible preaching. He preached by Sunday appointment and gospel meetings primarily in west central Arkansas. This included Coal Hill where the Coats family lived and whose daughter was Neva Maxie Coats. Brother Lyles entered Harding, in Morrilton, in the fall of 1933. He has often said of that experience, "All I remember is that I entered college, I was in love, and Maxie and I married." At the end of the fall quarter, he and Maxie moved to Talequah, Oklahoma where he preached for the church and they attended Northeastern State College.

n 1937 they moved to Muskogee, Oklahoma where he preached for the Central church. In 1941 they moved to Paris, Texas where he preached for the Lamar Avenue church. In 1945 they moved to Little Rock to work with the Fourth and State Streets church, which is now Sixth and Izard. He continued with them for twenty-three years. He conducted a live fifteen minute radio program over KARK early Sunday mornings all those years. He developed a thirty minute television program on KATV at 12:30 on Sundays. Brother Lyles was a popular evangelist and held many gospel meetings all over the continental United States. At the end of his tenure at Sixth and Izard he did full time evangelistic work for a few years. He was asked to come to Morrilton and preach for the Downtown church. He continued that ministry until he retired from full time preaching at the end of 1978. He served many years as a member of the board of directors of Southern Christian Home. He resigned that responsibility in December of 1978 when his son-in-law, Jerry Perrin was named superintendent of the Home. Cleon was co-founder and co-editor of the PULASKI COUNTY CHRISTIAN (now ARKANSAS - CHRISTIAN HERALD). He resigned from that work when he entered full time evangelistic service. In the late spring of 1979 he began preaching on Sundays for the Northside church (which meets at Southern Christian Home) in Morrilton. His love and concern for the spiritual nurture and growth of the boys and girls at the Home knew no bounds. He loved to bring the gospel to their troubled hearts. He often encouraged them by saying that he intended to go to heaven and he wanted them to go there, too. Brother Lyles was the author of seven books: "Bigger Men For Better Churches," "God Knew He Needed Her," "Make Way For Happiness," "Rich Without Money," "Wish I'd Said That," and "Baseball, Baptism, and Apple Pie." The last pulpit sermon brother Lyles preached was on Sunday, August 27 at the Northside church. He was making preparation to go on Sunday morning, September 3rd, when his strength failed and the ambulance rushed him to the hospital where he passed on that evening.