Msgr. Gerald Lyon 1925-2012

LYON CARRABINE

Posted By: Connie Swearingen-Volunteer (email)
Date: 8/13/2012 at 11:52:30

Sioux City Journal
July 25, 2012

Msgr. Gerald Lyon, 87, of Sioux City died Monday, July 23, 2012, at a Sioux City nursing home.

Services will be 11 a.m. Thursday at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery. Msgr. Mark Duschaine will be the celebrant of the Mass. The Revs. Merlin Schrad, Tim Boeckelman, Craig Collison, Gerald Feierfeil, Allan Reiks and other priests of the Diocese of Sioux City will be concelebrants of the Mass. Burial will be Calvary Cemetery. Visitation will be 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the church. A parish vigil service will be at 7 p.m, with the family present 6 to 8 p.m. Arrangements are under the direction of Larkin Chapel, Christy-Smith Funeral Home.

Msgr. Lyon was born on April 25, 1925, in Sioux City. He was the son of Fay and Irene (Carrabine) Lyon.

He attended Trinity High School and Trinity College in Sioux City. He attended St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, Md. He was ordained on June 7,1949, in Cathedral of the Epiphany. Msgr. Lyon earned his master's degree from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

He was assigned to Corpus Christi Parish in Fort Dodge, Iowa, from 1949 until 1952. Then he joined the faculty of Heelan High School and served there until 1958. He also served as chaplain for the Good Shepherd Convent in Sioux City. Msgr. Lyon then became the vice-rector/faculty member at St. Bernard’s Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, from 1958 until 1968. He was named pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Early, Iowa, from 1968 until 1973, when he was named pastor at Sacred Heart Parish in Spencer, Iowa. He served there until 1983, when became the pastor at Holy Name Parish in Marcus, Iowa. In 1989 Msgr. Lyon moved to St. Patrick’s Parish in Akron, Iowa, and stayed there until he retired in 1995. After he retired he lived at St. Joseph Parish in Le Mars, Iowa, until 2001, when he returned to Sioux City. One thing he loved was bird watching. He enjoyed going to his sister’s home in Florida to do bird watching.

He is survived by his brother, Kenneth Lyon of Sioux City; his sister, Mary Lyon of Ocala, Fla.; two nephews and a niece, Mark and Nicky Lyon, Dianne and Bill Sports, and Patrick Lyon; and 11 great-nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents and a sister-in-law, Marilyn Lyon.