Lyda Lea Lanier

Lyda Lea Cline Lanier passed away December 28, 2025.
She was a graduate of Ridgeville's one room country school, 1946; Tomah High School Class of 1950; UW-Madison with a degree in English and American History Education, Class of 1954. She earned a master's degree in English education, East Carolina College, Greenville, North Carolina, 1962. At her high school graduation, she received a perfect attendance award for never missing a day of school 1st -12th grades.
She taught at Mondovi High School, Mondovi, Wisconsin, Norwalk High School, Norwalk, Wisconsin and Kenai Territorial School, Kenai, Alaska. In 1990 she attended UW La Crosse for certification as an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher. She taught in La Crosse high schools and summer school and 6 years at UW La Crosse, retiring in 1999.
She was a Charter member of the Valley Ville 4-H Club. In 1955, she was an International Farm (now Four-H) Youth Exchangee (IFYE) to India for three months.
She was a lifetime member St. John's Lutheran Church, Ridgeville where she was confirmed. In 1957, she married Edwin M. Lanier, Chinquapin., North Carolina, whom she met in Kenai, Alaska while he was serving in the armed forces. For most of their married life, they lived at Ridgeville on the farm and in the house that Lyda's mother and father built where they raised their family of four. The family has the honor of owning a Century Farm.
During her career as a freelance writer, Lyda was a regional writer for La Crosse Tribune, covering the Grand National Tractor Pull, Tomah for 12 years, and doing features and photographs from the Norwalk, Ridgeville area. She was also published in state and national magazines.
She taught writing classes through WWTC, Writing Life Stories to senior citizens for 4 years. In cooperation with Carol Bursinger and the Daybreak Motel, she sponsored and led a February weekend writing workshop for 10 years, attracting participants from the Midwest. She conducted writing workshops on Writing Life Stories for five years at College Days for Women, UW- Madison.
She started a weekly column called Journal Entry from Ridgeville, which she wrote and read on Jamie Westpfahl's radio station, Tomah until it was sold. John Kenny invited her to publish her column in the Tomah Journal where Journal Entry from Ridgeville appeared bimonthly since 1992 through the year 2020. She always said the best stories are close to home.
Lyda was a member of the Monroe County Farm Bureau and served on the Board of Directors for six years, directing the Wisconsin in Agriculture essay contest. She was a member of the Utopian Homemakers Club and the American Cancer Society, serving as crusade chair and president and later as Team Captain of the Lanier Family Farm Relay for Life Team. She was a member of the Winding Rivers Library Board for six years. During that time, she saw the demise of the bookmobile much to her regret, but she also saw the development of village libraries in the area much to her delight. She was a volunteer docent for the Tomah Area Museum and a member of the Monroe County Historical Society where she initiated a grant program for Monroe County schoolchildren, resulting in projects that are filed at the Monroe County History Room.
Survived by beloved children Jeff and Karyl Lanier (Green Bay), James and Cathy Lanier (Waunakee), Dora Lanier and Jon Smith (Seattle) and John Lanier (Black River Falls) as well as grandchildren Brian (Niki), Eric (Jess), Karen, Jacob, Jared, and Emma. Great grandchildren Abby, Sophia, Leo, Zoey and Lena, brother and sister-in-law David and Wanda Cline, and brother-in-law, Jack Turner.
Preceded in death by husband Edwin M. Lanier, 2001; mother, Dora Helen Cline 1974, father, William John Cline, 1938.
She was devoted to Ridgeville as a community and was in the forefront of protecting the Ridge from unnecessary intrusions, objecting to anything which would act to destroy the natural beauty of the Ridge as well as affect the health and safety of the residents in this rural area.
She had a deep love for her family and enjoyed raising them and then later their company when they came home on visits. She loved the opportunities to travel to North Carolina and stay at the beach, especially when she could go with family.
"In my own words, I can say I've lived an amazing life. Edwin and I had the privilege of raising our children in the home where I grew up. Our family inherited a beach cottage on Topsail Island, North Carolina, built by Mr. Jack Lanier, my father in law and our family was privileged to enjoy that for many years. Edwin and I toured Alaska for five weeks to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary and his retirement in 1997. With my son James, I hiked the challenging Chilkoot Trail in 2003. I went back to Alaska in 2008 and worked for a month in Skagway at a Hostel simply because I wanted a taste of what the frontier must have been like. An avid reader of westerns, I sometimes felt as if I wanted to go back 125 years and travel across the plains and prairies by covered wagon with Edwin and the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. and with my electric coffee pot, computer and radio."
"My philosophy of life was this: Serve the Lord with gladness. To that end, I believed this: Have you had a kindness shown, pass it on. Many kindnesses were shown to me throughout my lifetime from family, relatives, friends and many strangers for which I am grateful, and I tried to pass them on. When I thought of dying, I liked the view Annie Dillard expressed in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek: 'I think that the dying prays at the last not 'please,' but 'thank you,' as a guest thanks his host at the door.' And so, I, too, say thank you for everything that has been, especially to the children and their families who made my life rich and full."
Family requests no flowers. Memorial can be given at St. John Lutheran Church (handicap fund); Lutheran Woman's Missionary society (LWMS); Wisconsin Student Chapel (WELS), Madison; Calvary Lutheran Student Chapel, Madison; Tomah Hospice Care; the Tomah Kindness Fund; area libraries; Monroe County 4-H Association; Area Community Theater; the Tomah Area Cancer Society; Tomah Area Museum; Monroe County Local History Room; and the Deke Slayton Museum, Sparta.
A Funeral Service will be held on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, 11:00 AM at St. John Ev. Lutheran Church (Ridgeville), Tomah. Pastor Joel Neumann and Pastor Robert Gerke will officiate. Burial will be in the church cemetery.
Relatives and friends are invited for a time of visitation on Monday from 4:00 PM until 7:00 PM at the Sonnenburg Family Funeral Home, 801 E. Monowau Street, Tomah and at the church on Tuesday from 10:00 AM until the time of the service. Online condolences can be offered by visiting www.sonnenburgfamilyfh.com