Colonel David Reed Lyon, age 81, passed away on March 19, 2002.
He was born June 21, 1920, in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was the oldest son of David Cairns Lyon and Victoria Reed. He grew up in Bingham Canyon and graduated from the University of Utah in 1941. He married his eternal sweetheart Cherie Deane Moss in the Salt Lake Temple on May 11, 1942.
He entered the U.S. Army in January 1942. He served on active duty for over 31 years, including combat in the Korean War. After serving with distinction in many staff and command positions, he retired in July 1972. He always felt his greatest achievement was establishing the Army ROTC program at Brigham Young University in 1968.
After retiring from the Army, he served at BYU in University Relations from 1972 to 1980 and also taught some religion classes. He served as the President of the Provo Chamber of Commerce (1978-1979), President of BYU chapter of the Sons of the Utah Pioneers, the Kiwanis Club, 18 years on the board of the Utah County American Red Cross, and for many years at local, county, and state levels of the Republican Party. After learning to love the Polynesian cultures and people during an assignment in Hawaii, he and his wife enjoyed serving with the BYU Polynesian Club. They also accompanied the BYU Folk Dancers on a European tour. He was an inveterate photographer.
He served in many callings in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints including as a stake missionary, twice as a branch president, twice as a bishop, and a full-time mission with his wife to Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. After a lifetime of service to his family, his Church, his community, and his nation, he had longed to be reunited with his wife who passed away in June 2001.
Survivors include his brothers Richard and Alan; his sister, Mary Louise Tanner; his sons David Ray, Stuart Douglas, Michael Patrick, and Philip Sheridan; his daughter, Toi Lyon Clawson; and 18 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held Friday, March 22, 2002 at 11:00 a.m., at the Oak Hills Stake Center, 925 East North Temple Drive, Provo. Friends may call Thursday evening, at the Stake Center, from 6-8 p.m., or Friday morning, from 10-11 a.m., prior to services. Interment, Utah Veterans Memorial Park, 17111 South Camp Williams Road, Bluffdale.
Services under the Direction of Berg Mortuary of Provo.