INEZ ELOISE (ELLIOTT) TYSDAL

March 25, 1924–Dec. 25, 2018
Funeral services for Inez Tysdal were held on Monday, Dec. 31, at 1 p.m. at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 224 West Rd., Newcastle, Wyo., with interment following at the Boyd Cemetery in Four Corners, Wyo. Reception followed burial at the Four Corners Country Church. 
Inez Eloise (Elliott) Tysdal left this earth to join Jesus and her loved ones in heaven on Christmas Eve 2018. Inez passed away at Weston County Manor in Newcastle, Wyo., on Dec. 25, 2018. She was 94 years old, having been born on March 25, 1924, in Newcastle to Robert and Ida (Jarvis) Elliott. She had one older sister, Betty.
Inez was raised on her parents’ ranch in the Four Corners area on the Prairie north of Newcastle. She attended the Boyd country school through the eighth grade. She loved attending school and was sad when weather or the end of the school term kept her from going to school. She graduated from Newcastle High School at age 17 in 1941 as valedictorian. She went to the University of Wyoming College of Education on a scholarship. After one year of college she began teaching. She taught at the Boyd and Clareton rural schools, and continued her classes at the University of Wyoming in the summers.
On July 23, 1946, she married Lloyd Tysdal. Lloyd and Inez had a ranch on the Prairie not far from her childhood home. Inez was a stay-at-home wife and mother for the next nine years as her family grew to include three sons, Martin, Lauris and Harold. In 1954 she went back to teaching. The only thing Inez loved more than teaching was her family, so it was a hard decision for her to make. But, once the decision was made, this woman with a brilliant mind and kind soul gave her total commitment to both her family and her students. 
No matter how bad the weather was she would find a way to get home to her family at the end of the day even if it meant driving on back county roads because highways were closed. She would leave her car at the highway and walk in to the house. The next day she would start early so she could reverse the process and walk out to her car to return to her students and another day of teaching them.
Inez’s teaching philosophy, in her own words, included her belief that “the charge of a teacher is awesome in its responsibility and trust, considering the importance of a child to his parents, his community and his country.” Inez continued with her education, and in 1960 she received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Wyoming with honors, and in 1967, she received her master’s degree from the University.
In 1980 Inez received the honor of being selected the Teacher of the Year. In 1994 she was chosen as Beta Sigma Phi First Lady. In 2018 she was inducted into the Newcastle High School Hall of Fame.
After retiring from teaching Inez continued to promote education by volunteering at the school library and serving on the Weston County Library board. She was a strong advocate for higher education and always promoted the University of Wyoming. Inez and a group of other retired teachers decided in 1990 to promote education by sponsoring scholarships. They did this by writing short stories of early day pioneers that were published and sold in booklets.Thousands of dollars were made from the publications and many Weston County students reaped the benefits from scholarships.
Inez is a member of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Newcastle, and past member of Kappa Delta Pi, Phi Kappa Phi and the Newcastle and National Education Associations.
She was preceded in death by her parents, sister, husband Lloyd in 1983 and son Martin in 2004. 
Survivors include her sons, Lauris (Linda) and Harold (Dana), and daughter-in-law, Bobbie Jo Tysdal. Grandchildren surviving her include David (Mandy), Daniel, Jay (Katrina) Tysdal, Tim (Sonya) Tysdal, Kelli (Troy) Tavegie, Alaina (Josh) Liggett, Garrett Tysdal, and Kyla (Micah) Popma. Inez is also survived by 12 great-grandchildren, Davin, Levi, and Morgan Tysdal, Tell, Pate, Coen and Emeree Tavegie, Paige, Rya, Tavern and Ainsley Liggett, and Josiah Popma. Also surviving are five nephews and their families.
A memorial has been established for the Weston County Library and may be sent in care of Meridian Mortuary, 111 Railway Ave., Newcastle, WY 82701.