Lyle was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1994.

“We walk through ourselves, meeting robbers, ghosts, giants, old men, young men, wives, widows, brothers-in-love, but always meeting ourselves.” – James Joyce, Ulysses

He has three younger brothers: Ray, Johnny, and Henry. His mother Elizabeth passed away in 2019, while his father John continues to lead the family. He remains close with his twelve first cousins, along with eight aunts & uncles and two surviving grandparents.

A 13th-generation American, he was raised by a family whose heritage in the country predates the Revolutionary War. His recent ancestors predominantly hailed from the American South, most notably Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas.

After a brief stint in Pennsylvania, at age 6 his family moved to Chicago Illinois, where he attended Near North Montessori School and Whitney Young. He spent five summers at Camp Pemigewassett in New Hampshire, initiating a love for independence and an appreciation of the outdoors.

At age 13, he left for Connecticut to enroll at Loomis Chaffee for high school. There he played varsity Football and Lacrosse and led the residential community as Prefect and Resident Assistant.
For college he remained in New England at Bates College in Maine, excelling in academics as a Mathematics major and in athletics as a three-year starter on the varsity football team. For his semester abroad, he went to the University of Auckland in New Zealand.
After graduating he moved to NYC to get a job. Since then he’s lived and worked in Manhattan, the former on the East Side and the latter at a marketing agency in One World Trade Center. In his free time he enjoys reading, playing poker, travelling, doing yoga, watching sports, and spending time with friends & family.

Lyle is now pursuing his MBA in California, with the goal of improving people’s travel experiences around the world. On April 7th 2023, he got engaged to Corey Rae.

“Like all Americans… [They change] very fast and all at once… And nothing ever changes them back.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Love of the Last Tycoon

Lyle’s family heritage spans back through his mother’s side (the Bryans) and his father’s side (the Seebecks). The two came together in Chicago in 1991 with the marriage of his parents. With a Catholic father and Protestant mother, Lyle was baptized non-denominational Christian.

“Things will shape themselves” – Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

The Bryans
The Bryans virtually all come from the American South, dating back 13 generations to Colonial America, to whence they came from the British Isles. Most arrived to coastal states like Virginia and South Carolina, and over time migrated west to settle in Mississippi and Arkansas.
Lyle’s grandmother’s family, who ended up in Arkansas, were mostly lawyers, doctors, and ministers. His grandfather’s family, who ended up in Mississippi, were mostly farmers and laborers.
His recent family starts with his great-grandparents, John Henry Bryan and Catherine Cameron Wilkerson (“Mur”). JHB established what became a successful family business by founding Bryan Brothers Packing Company. His taking the family on an extended trip to Europe opened Lyle’s grandfather’s eyes to the world outside the south, a move that would pay dividends for the family later on.
Mur held liberal views that shaped the family for years to come. She put her beliefs into action: upon graduating from Mississippi State College for Women in 1931 she refused to personally accept her diploma from Governor Theodore Bilbo because of his strong racist views; she managed social services across three Mississippi counties during the Great Depression; and she left the local Presbyterian Church in 1989 after it seceded from the national church due to the national church’s liberal social positions.
Her son and Lyle’s grandfather, John Henry Bryan Jr. (“Papa”), further led the family in branching out from the south into the world. He moved his family from Mississippi to Chicago after he merged the family business into a firm that became Sara Lee, later serving as CEO for 25 years. During that time and after he made invaluable contributions to both the artistic and public communities: donating Sara Lee’s corporate art collection, preserving art such as British furniture and architecture such as the Farnsworth House, and leading private fundraising for Millennium Park in downtown Chicago.
In 1958, Papa married Lyle’s grandmother Neville Frierson (“Nana”), who he had met while attending his mother’s alma mater of Rhodes College in Memphis. Over the years, Nana has kept the family grounded; her simplicity and dedication to hobbies such as cooking, gardening, and tennis have taught her descendants how to live full and satisfying lives.
Lyle’s mother, Elizabeth Montgomery Bryan, dedicated her life to education. As a young women, fluent in sign language, she taught deaf students. Then she shifted her passion to her four children, customizing each of our educational paths. In her later years, she went back into the formal education system and focused on bringing Montessori to Chicago Public Schools. Elizabeth passed away in 2019 at the age of 54 from cancer.

“Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining.” – Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

The Seebecks
While less documentation exists covering the Seebeck family’s arrival to America, it’s known that Lyle’s father’s side was primarily German, with the name Seebeck deriving from a town in Germany. Lyle’s grandmother’s family, the Richesons and the Souchons, had substantial French heritage, and lived in New Orleans.
The recent family history starts with Lyle’s great-grandparents: William Lyle Richeson and Marion Souchon. In 1922 they were in the Rex float of the Mardi Gras parade together, with Marion serving as Queen and William as one of the Dukes. Besides being Lyle’s namesake, William was the only other in his immediate family or direct ancestry to play football, which he did at Yale, enjoying an undefeated season in 1923. After William and Marion married, Lyle’s grandmother Manon was born in New York City in 1930.
On the Seebeck side, they were from New York, where Lyle’s great-grandparents married in 1921 and had his grandfather, Bob Seebeck, in 1926.
Bob and Manon met in New Jersey and married not long after in 1952.
Despite moving to Chicago not long after the birth of their youngest child, the Seebecks have always maintained ties to the northeast, especially with Lyle’s uncle Fred who has lived and worked in Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island since graduating high school. Bob & Manon have led our family in weaving faith and respect for others into our lives.
Manon in particular represented liveliness and decorum. For instance, she brightened up many family events such as our annual Christmas Eve gathering. Likewise she taught her grandchildren the importance of good manners, especially at the dinner table.
Bob represents many things. Of course one is longevity, as at 95 he’s Lyle’s oldest known ancestor. He has given the family a perfect example of how to balance frankness and forgiveness. He is also extremely diligent, proof of how far one can go by basing their approach on hard work.
Lyle’s father, John Seebeck, has inherited many of his parents’ best qualities: loyal, honest, and full of positive energy. He has always put his responsibility of providing for his family first, finds creative ways to bring more joy to social gatherings (often going out of his way to cheer up a person that’s bummed out), and has always kept his word even when others forget.