Anthony (Tony) Lyle, C’61, a former editor of The Pennsylvania Gazette who worked at Penn for more than three decades, died of a heart attack on October 27 at the age of 79.

Mr. Lyle graduated from the College of Arts & Sciences at Penn in 1961. During his time as an undergraduate, he edited The Daily Pennsylvanian and was a member of the Alpha Chi Rho fraternity. In 1963, he joined Penn’s development office, where he wrote and edited for publications including The Wharton Report and The Wharton MBA, the English department’s Newsletter and alumni publications for the Graduate School of Education and the School of Social Work. From 1966 to 1967, he taught English at the Episcopal Academy in Philadelphia. He returned to Penn as a writer in 1967.

In 1971, Mr. Lyle became editor of The Pennsylvania Gazette (Almanac February 12, 1971). Under his leadership, the magazine won the Robert Sibley Award for “Magazine of the Year,” the nation’s top prize in alumni publishing, in 1981, 1983 (Almanac October 4, 1983), and in 1995. The Gazette was consistently included in the top ten alumni magazines in the annual competition sponsored by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and Newsweek. Mr. Lyle retired from Penn in 1995 after 31 years of service, 24 of which were at the Gazette.

A funeral mass will take place today, November 10 at St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church, 242 South 20th Street, at 10:15 a.m., preceded by a viewing at 9 a.m. and followed by burial at noon at Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Mr. Lyle is survived by his sister, Teresa Lyle Kennedy; his niece, Alison Flowers and three great nieces, Katie Flowers, Amber Darnell and Brooke Darnell.