(April 15, 1938 – May 2, 2021)
Lyman Nils Youngberg, 83 of Orovada, Nevada was born on April 15, 1938, in San Francisco, California.
He passed away peacefully in care on May 2, 2021, just weeks after celebrating his 83rd birthday with friends and family during which he was in good spirits.
Lyman was born to John Carlisle Youngberg, a California native, and Florence Lyon Merriam of Lyons Falls, New York.
Growing up, horseback riding was an integral part of family life for Lyman, his sister and both parents. As a young boy in the 1950’s, Lyman discovered his love for ranch life.
He worked weekends and summers at a family friend’s ranch in Olema, California, and later worked at a ranch in Likely, California.
Lyman graduated from Sir Francis Drake Highschool in San Anselmo, California in 1957, and once wrote, “I hated school and I don’t think they appreciated me much either”.
It probably wasn’t that they didn’t appreciate him so much as they didn’t appreciate him driving his car through the hallways of the school.
The girls, however, we are told, enjoyed it very much. In August of 1957, at age 19, Lyman was called to active duty in the Navy, and was assigned to the Naval Air Flight Squadron where he served as a flight captain.
He wrote that, during his last two cruises, he had time to think about his future and would dream about his horses, the ranches, meadows, cattle, and the smell of sage brush, and so after serving his tour of duty and a few close calls Lyman returned home.
After the Navy, Lyman married (Cynthia Ann Stull, of San Rafael, California) and started a family while attending Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo where he majored in Animal Husbandry.
He finished his degree in Animal Science at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, Colorado, and then followed his arrow toward his true ambition: meadows, cattle, and sagebrush!
Through the years, Lyman continued to work ranches in Colorado, California, Utah, Arizona, and Nevada, while also shoeing horses and working as a bank appraiser to support his family.
In 1993, Lyman finally realized his dream of owning his own ranch, Flat Creek, in Orovada, NV.
He continued to run cattle from Flat Creek until 2009, at which point he decided to “retire” at the age of 71.
He downsized to a smaller place in Orovada where he still maintained a few horses and cattle, while also continuing his hobbies of leathermaking, creating horsehair ropes, roasting pinon nuts, as well as serving on the local fire brigade.
Lyman was a father, a grandpa, a great grandpa, a brother, and an uncle.
He was also an artist, a historian, a lifelong learner, a craftsman, a fly fisherman, an arrowhead collector, a cowboy philosopher, a reader, a lover of Mariachi music, a friend, and loyal member of the cowboy community. He was tough on the outside, but deep down, a softy. He was sometimes known as “The Last Gringo”.
He had probably been called a couple other of things not appropriate for this publication. He had a rich life and made friendships that he maintained until the day he passed.
If you knew him, you knew that twinkle in his eye. The depth of people who will miss and remember him fondly is vast.
Lyman’s survivors include his children Eric Youngberg and his wife Alex, Annie Youngberg, Staci Ericson and her husband Todd, Sarah Gagliardi and her husband Jim, and Lyman’s sister Lynda Sayre and husband Bob.
His grandchildren include Joseph Winterton, Nicholas Cassar with wife Reshinda, Mimi Ericson, Ash Ericson, Olivia Gagliardi, and Hugh Gagliardi. His great grandchildren include Dylan, Addison, and Ashlyn Cassar.
** Service details are forthcoming **
