Robert A. Lyon, Jr., 96

April 13, 2018

Robert A.”Bob” Lyon, Jr. passed away on April 13, 2018 at the age of 96, surrounded by his family. He was born February 9, 1922 in Washington, PA to the late Robert A. Lyon and Catherine Boyd (Brendel) Lyon. He was the husband of Diana (Dean) Lyon with whom he recently celebrated 55 years of marriage.
Bob grew up in Uniontown, PA. Following his high school graduation in June 1940, he enlisted in the U.S. Army where he served in the Army Air Corps (now Air Force) in both the Pacific and European Theaters. After recruit training he was assigned to the 2nd Bomb Squadron of the 22nd Bomb Group, 5th Air Force. He received six months aircraft mechanic training and was assigned to a combat crew on the new Martin-B-26. After Pearl Harbor, he spent a month in CA on sub patrol over the Pacific and in February 1942 he was sent to Australia. Until June 1943 he was an aerial engineer/gunner on a crew that flew 22 missions over New Britain, New Guinea and the Coral Sea. Their plane was credited with shooting down two Zeros. Bob participated in five major battles during that time. In 1943 he returned to Barksdale Field, LA for 14 months, and then volunteered to join another crew being shipped out to Stone, England. He was assigned to the 394th Bomb Squadron of the 586th Bomb Group, 9th Air Force. Bob flew another 14 missions until the war ended in 1945 and returned home to Uniontown.
He attended college under the GI Bill at West Virginia University and earned a B.A. in Art and Political Science in 1948. He taught art at Uniontown High School while earning a B.S. in Education at Indiana University of PA and a M.Ed. in Art Education at Penn State University. He was also a John Hay Fellow at Williams College, Massachusetts. In 1961 after 13 years as Director of Art at the high school and an adjunct professor at Waynesburg College, Professor Lyon was hired by Millersville State College (now Millersville University). He also was an adjunct faculty member at Franklin and Marshall College. In addition to work as a distinguished teacher of painting and art history, he established and directed Millersville’s Ganser Art Gallery for 18 years, and was instrumental in establishing and administering the University’s Permanent Art Collection now named in his honor. Bob was a prolific painter working in watercolor, oil, acrylic, and mixed media. Lyon’s work has been exhibited widely in one-man and group shows, in numerous galleries, as well as being part of permanent and private collections. He garnered many awards for his art work, but he derived greater pleasure from his former art students’ widely acknowledged accomplishments.
Bob was active in the community serving on the Boards of the Lancaster Museum of Art and Demuth Foundation and the Susquehanna Museum and Doshi Art Gallery in Harrisburg. He served as a director of the Quest for Learning Program and lectured in the program over 30 years. He was told he had the record for the most lectures ever given. He was a member of the Echo Valley Art Group since 1966.
Bob was a member of St. John’s Episcopal Church; he served on the Vestry, taught Sunday school, and was a lay reader and usher. He was on the United Campus Ministry Board at Millersville University and coached Little League Baseball.
After teaching classes, Bob could be found in his studio, working often on several paintings at a time. Following retirement in 1990, he continued daily to work at the studio and to swim. He enjoyed gardening, travels to New England, California, Hawaii, Mexico, and Europe; visiting art galleries, reading poetry, great literature, the New Yorker Magazine; and listening to jazz and classical music. Having lived in both western and eastern PA, he was a fan of the Pirates and Phillies, Steelers and Eagles, West Virginia and Penn State.
In addition to his wife Diana, Bob is survived by 3 children; Robert A. Lyon III (Joni Hackett) of Mechanicsburg, Christopher J. Lyon of Clearwater, FL, and Dean A. Lyon (Bobi Bacon) of Wildwood Crest, NJ; 5 grandchildren, Jeffrey, David and Alexander Lyon, Erika (Watson) Pulido, and Kristen Watson-Geering; and great-grandson, Jack Henry Lyon. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his siblings, Catherine “Katy” (Lyon) Palumbo, William “Bill” Lyon and Lloyd “Johnny” Lyon, and by a son, Boyd N. Lyon.
A Celebration of Life will be held Friday, May 4, 2018 at 1:00 PM at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 321 West Chestnut Street, Lancaster, PA 17603. Following the church service, family will receive relatives and friends from 3pm to 7pm at Breidenstine Hall Sykes Gallery on the Millersville University campus. An exhibit of Bob’s work will be on display through May 16. Burial will be at a later date in Kauai, HI where his son is buried. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in his honor may be made to the Boyd Lyon Sea Turtle Fund, at www.boydlyonseaturtlefund.org .