Florence Pyle, 94, of Lewisburg, PA, formerly of Huron, SD, died Saturday, March 27, 2010, at Evangelical Hospital in Lewsiburg.

The burial service of her cremated remains will be at 10:00 a.m. Friday, May 28, at Riverside Cemetery.

There will be no visitation.

Memorials may be directed in Florences memory to Buffalo Valley Lutheran Village, 889 Fairground Road, Lewisburg, PA 17837.

Local arrangements are under the direction of Welter Funeral Home of Huron.

Florence Pyle, the only child of John Shields and Florence (Bruce) Pyle, was born on April 15, 1915, in Huron, SD. Her early years were spent in South Dakota on land claims in Butte and Fall River Counties and in Huron and Belle Fourche. The family later moved to Dormont, PA, a Pittsburgh suburb. Florence was a 1932 graduate and class valedictorian of Mount Lebanon High School. She continued her education at Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie-Mellon University), graduating in 1936 with a Bachelors Degree in Public School Music. While there she was a member of the scholastic fraternity Phi Kappa Phi and Sigma Alpha Iota, a professional and honorary fraternity for women in music. In 1954 Florence received a Master of Arts Degree from Bucknell University.

Florence taught and supervised music classes in Robinson Township (Allegheny County) schools from 1936 to 1939, and taught music privately from 1939 to 1942. In 1943 she entered college administration at Briarcliff Junior College, Briarcliff Manor, New York. In 1947 she joined the staff at Bucknell University, retiring as Registrar Emeritus in 1977. She also served as Assistant Secretary of the Board of Trustees. In 1972 she received the Wilkinson Award for Administrative Excellence.

From the time she became a member in 1926, Florence was active in Girl Scouts throughout her life. She served as leader, program advisor, counselor and administrator at several Girl Scout camps, and as a board member on numerous committees. President of the local council from 1958 to 1963, she was active in the formation of the Hemlock Council. For several years she served Hemlock as its Director of Public Relations on a volunteer basis, and also served as President from 1979 to 1982. For many years she was the councils historian and archivist. She received the Golden Eaglet, Thanks Badge, Thanks Badge II, and the Hemlock Award.

Other affiliations include the First Presbyterian Church of Lewisburg, where she served on committees for publication of its 150-year history and for sponsorship of a Vietnamese family; the Union County United Way, serving on its board from its establishment in 1965 until 1991 and as president in 1982 and 1983; Seven Mountains Audubon Society since its beginning, first as editor and later as education chairman; the Civic Club of Lewisburg, secretary; Selinsgrove Alumnae Chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota, several years as editor; Senior Bucknellians; Bucknell Contemporary Book Club; and honorary member of the Lewisburg Chapter of Kiwanis International. Over the years she handled publicity for the Lewisburg Arts Festival, the capital campaign for the Union County Public Library, Kiwanis, Habitat for Humanity, Civic Club House Tour, United Way and the Girl Scouts.

Florence enjoyed the out-of-doors, travel, crafts, gardening and rock-hounding. An amateur lapidary she created a before and after display for the Geology Department at Bucknell. She also compiled information on the Pyle Home Museum in Huron, S.D., which is on the National Register of Historic Places, and she published a book on the descendents of her great-grandfather, John Albert Rex Gorham Bruce.

A musicale and service of remembrance will be held at Bucknell Hall on the Bucknell University Campus on Saturday, May 15, 2010 at 10 a.m. Officiating will be her Sigma Alpha Iota sister, the Rev. Dr. Lois D. Martin of Beaver Lutheran Church, Beaver Springs. Inurnment will be at a later date in South Dakota.

Arrangements are being handled by Cronrath-Grenoble Funeral Home, S. 2nd & St. Louis Streets, Lewisburg, PA.