Robert Lyte, World's Fair Promoter

Robert Lyte came by his strong interest in Seattle Center naturally. He was promotions manager for the 1962 World's Fair in Seattle, the site of which is now Seattle Center.

And one of his former colleagues says it's significant that the Seattle Center Foundation is to be the recipient of contributions in memory of Mr. Lyte, 66, who died Aug. 15 after a long fight with cancer.

``His work with the World's Fair was high on Bob's list of significant events in his professional career,'' said Ewen Dingwall, who served as general manager of the fair. ``Bob had an interest in Seattle Center all the way through.''

Dingwall and Jay Rockey recall Mr. Lyte as he was in the early 1960s - a small, dark-haired, energetic man bubbling with ideas for putting the fair across to the media and the public at large.

``He was full of bounce,'' said Dingwall. ``During some pretty hectic days he always had a smile.''

Rockey, who was Mr. Lyte's immediate superior, was impressed by his understanding of promotion in what was then a youthful industry, electronic broadcasting.

``We had a real need for national marketing,'' Rockey said yesterday. ``Bob had a good feel for dealing with television stations, particularly in the West, which was our prime market.''

Mr. Lyte, a native of Reno, Nev., came by his knowledge firsthand.

He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and attended Woodbury College in Los Angeles. He moved to the Northwest to serve as promotion director at Tacoma's KTNT-TV, now KSTW-TV, and later held similar positions in Florida before returning to work for the World's Fair.

Following that, Mr. Lyte became director of marketing and sales for the California Exposition, in Sacramento, and later worked as a real estate broker in Palos Verdes, Calif., before returning to Seattle.

No services will be held.

Mr. Lyte is survived by three daughters, Mrs. Karen Gall and Jill Lyte of Tacoma, and Mrs. Terri Wood of Kelso; and by eight grandchildren.