Last Updated on August 14, 2025 by Editor
Lyle Shorey and his wife, JoAnn, have become active members of our parish since Lyle was fully initiated into the Catholic faith at the 2024 Easter Vigil. Lyle resurrected the livestream Mass, donating his time and equipment. JoAnn is a Euchartistic minister at the 11 a.m. Sunday Mass.
Lyle Shorey is a relative newcomer to our parish. Though he considered himself Catholic as a youth, he never was baptized. He was fully initiated into the church at the 2024 Easter Vigil. Since then, he and his wife have become active in our parish. He resurrected our livestream Mass (and equipment), and his wife is a Eucharistic minister. In addition to remodeling his faith, he also delves into home improvements, genealogy and history.
You have many varied interests in your life. One of them is home improvements. What have you done around the house and why do you like it so much?
In the 25-plus years in our house, I have installed vinyl siding on the house (all by myself). I have remodeled our kitchen once and the bathroom twice. I have pretty much gone through the entire house. I do all the construction, plumbing and electrical work myself. I added a three-season room to the back of the house, and just recently finished a paver patio with a gazebo. In my real job, I do office work all day, so home-improvement projects give me chance to work with my hands, and I love to enjoy the finished results.
Along with that, you love woodworking. What kind of projects interest you and what have you designed?
I have made jewelry boxes for my granddaughter and grandniece. I make Bible stands, oak shelves, birdhouses and whatever I am in the mood to do at the time.
Genealogy is another interest. What got you into that area and what have you learned about your ancestry?
I became interested in genealogy when my grandmother passed away in 2001 and my father had given me some of her paperwork for keepsake.
One item in the paperwork was my grandfather’s death certificate. My grandfather died in 1929 when my grandmother was only 19 years old and my father was 11 months old. So, no one in our family knew much about the Shorey side of the family. After doing some research, I was able to trace the Shorey family back to the late 1500s, early 1600s. Our family came from England to Boston, to Blue Hill, Maine and eventually to Stittville in the 1840s. My fourth great grandfather and his two brothers fought in the Civil War. They signed up in Rome into the 117th NY Vols. All three survived the war. They fought in some pretty well-known battles.
One of my relatives way back was in Gen Washington’s Guard during the Revolutionary War. Washington’s Guard is like what the Secret Service is today. I also found I was distantly related to Princess Diana, the Baldwin brothers and John Lithgow.
You love reading about American history. Why?
One of my teachers in high school would talk about current events in the classroom each day. After school I would go home and read about the current events in newspapers or watch them on the news. Eventually, reading about current events led me to start reading more about past events. It started, I think, with U.S. presidents, and then U.S. wars, U.S. politics and it evolved from there. While I am reading or watching history events, I like to imagine what it would have been like during that period of time. It is interesting to me how people lived during those periods of time.
You have been in banking for a good portion of your career. What drew you to that industry?
When I was 19 years old, I was looking into going to college. I visited admissions and was trying to find ways to pay for tuition. My older brother, through a friend, was able to get me an interview at Savings Bank Trust Co, in Marcy. I was hired and began working there part time. Before long, I was offered a full-time position, and I really enjoyed working in that field. When I was 23 our daughter was born, and I started to focus more on my family and career.
You’re kind of a computer geek, in a good way. What fascinates you about technology?
While working at the bank, I applied for a Computer Operations position. This was like in 1988, and I knew very little, if nothing, about computers. I was given the position and my fascination with computers took off. In those days we were working in a room filled with disk drives and tape drives. It kind of looked like what you see in 1980s movies that show computer rooms with the tapes spinning. My supervisor at the time started teaching me basic programming. He taught me to write IBM job control language and also how to design forms for Xerox laser printers. I would design checking and savings paper statements for some of our customers. By then I was hooked on computers.
You nearly single-handedly resurrected the parish’s livestream in a short period of time. Why did you decide to help, donate your time and some of your equipment?
When JoAnn and I joined the church, we decided that not only will we attend church and practice the faith, but we also wanted to give back to the church. I read in the church bulletin that volunteers were needed with the livestream. There was also help needed in other areas of the church. So, we decided that this would be a good opportunity to give back to the church. I volunteered to do the livestream and JoAnn volunteers as a Eucharist minister. The livestream needed a boost. We had help from other volunteers who added a new platform that was really nice, however, nobody was familiar with that platform, and it did not quite work out. We decided to go back to the OBS platform. Apple IOS software is a great platform to run OBS. So, JoAnn and I decided to donate an iMac Mini computer and monitors needed to do the livestream on the OBS platform. It seems to be working out fine.
Back in 2024, you were fully initiated into the Catholic faith at the Easter Vigil celebration. Please explain your journey to becoming a Catholic, why you did it and how you ended up in our parish.
My father and mother were both Catholic. My father went to Catholic school. However, for some reason or another, I was never baptized into the church. I always believed in God and always considered myself Catholic. When I was in grade school all my friends would go to religious education class at Our Lady of Lourdes Church and my brother and I would go with them. I am pretty sure the teachers knew we did not belong to the church, but they never said anything. JoAnn has been a Catholic her whole life and we were married at St. Peter’s Church in North Utica. My mother-in-law, Jackie Grande, would often ask me when I was going to be baptized. I would tell her that when I am baptized I want to be fully committed to the Catholic faith and to the church. When my mother-in-law passed away, her services were held at Mount Carmel. I promised myself that day that I would join the church and that I would practice the faith with all my heart.
How has your faith grown over the years?
My faith has always been there, but it was more distant than it is now. As I go through life, I have always thanked God for all the gifts he has given me/us. I finally reached a point in my life where I needed to be more in touch with my faith. I will never look at faith from a distance anymore.
You and your wife have been at Mount Carmel / Blessed Sacrament for a short time. So, what are your thoughts about the parish and its people?
I fell in love with the church from the first time I visited. The church is beautiful and the people are as well. We feel we are now part of a new family.
What do you hope the future holds for Lyle Shorey?
I have always been hesitant to look too far into the future. I have been blessed with a beautiful family, extended family and friends. I would just like to enjoy every day that we have on Earth and thank God for the wonderful gifts he has provided us.
Lyle Shorey
- Age: 60.
- Family: Wife JoAnn, daughter Sarah, son-in-law Elliot and granddaughter Isidora.
- Resides: New York Mills.
- Occupation: MetLife for 18 years; currently a vendor relationship manager. Previously worked in banking at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in computer operations and as a business consultant. Also worked for other banking institutions throughout 23 years in banking.
- Things you like to do in your spare time: Home-improvement projects, woodworking, genealogy, reading about American history, riding my motorcycle.
- Favorite movie: “Lincoln.”
- Favorite TV show: TV really does not do too much for me. I watch a lot of sports.
- Favorite musical genre: Top 40 pop and Top 40 country.
- Favorite food. Prime rib.