2/21/1942 - 7/16/2021
David A. Lyons, 79, a lifetime resident of Portland, Indiana until the
last three years when he became a resident of Wabash, passed away on Friday,
July 16, 2021, at his daughter's residence. He was born on February 21,
1942, in Jay County, Indiana, to the late Edward Dale and Irene
Delee(McKinley) Lyons. Dave married Diana Ice on January 18, 1964; she
survives.
Dave was a 1960 graduate of Bryant High School in Portland.
While attending Bryant High School, he was a member of the first sectional
boys’ basketball championship team. Dave attended Purdue University and was
a member of the Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity. Dave owned and operated Dave
Lyons Realty and Farm Management. He also was an insurance agent at Farm
Bureau Insurance in Portland. Dave had many interests and belonged to
several community organizations. He was a member of
the Bryant Redeemer
Lutheran Church. He was a pilgrim and past governor of the Moose Lodge for
the State of Indiana, and he was a current member of the Wabash Moose Lodge
#1195. He was member of the Eagles Lodge, Knights of Pythias, Elks Lodge,
Jay County Fair Association, Democratic Precinct Committeeman, Little League
baseball manager, United Fund board member, March of Dimes chairman of fund
raising, YMCA membership drive chairman, Jaycees and Lions Club, the Bryant
Centennial Celebration chairman, Bryant High School Alumni Association
president,
Bryant Community Club, and the Jay County Historical Society.
Dave loved baseball, coaching little league and softball for decades, and
was an avid Portland Rockets fan. He was a lifelong Los Angeles Dodgers fan
and wore #42 like Jackie Robinson. He loved hunting and fishing, arrowhead
hunting, cats and dogs, especially English Setters. Dave always had a smile
on his face, a twinkle in his eye and had a joke to tell, and never knew a
stranger.
Dave is survived by his wife, Diana; two daughters, Michelle (Dan)
Sparling, of Wabash and Susan (Russ) Reichard, of Jasper, Indiana; one
brother, Robert C. Lyons, of Portland, Indiana; three grandchildren, Lincoln
Davis Reichard, Danielle Alexandra Sparling and Brittanie Nicole Zimmerly;
three great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews; and his dog,
Charlie. Per Dave's wishes, a private graveside service will be held at
Gravel Hill Cemetery in Bryant,
Indiana. In lieu of flowers, memorial
contributions may be donated to the David A. Lyons endowment fund for Jay
County Baseball Association, at the Portland Foundation, 107 South Meridian
Street, Portland, Indiana 47371. McDonald Funeral Homes, 231 Falls Avenue,
Wabash, Indiana 46992, have been trusted to handle David Lyons'
arrangements.
Baird-Freeman Funeral Home;
July 22, 2021
Contributed by Jim Cox
Buried in Gravel Hill Cemetery