Dr. Bernard F. Lyons

Dr. Bernard Lyons, of Knoxville and Nashville, TN, and Weekapaug, RI, died Thursday December 10, 2020 of COVID-19.

He is preceded in death by his adored wife, Anne G. Lyons, and his parents, Bernard F. and Thelma Lyons, and sister Kathleen Lyons Ayr. He is survived by his daughters Martha Lyons Stroud of Nashville and Alison Lyons Palmer of Los Angeles, CA; by beloved grandchildren Peter, Margaret and Rebecca Jane Stroud and Chelsea and Mackenzie Palmer; and by brothers David T. Lyons of Manchester, CT and James U. Lyons of Glastonbury, CT. He also leaves behind a much loved and remarkable array of nieces and nephews who are healers, soldiers, adventurers, entrepreneurs, and loving parents. He bids goodbye to his friends and neighbors at The Dunes community of Weekapaug, RI, where he pursued the surfcaster’s quest with just enough success to delight in the shore’s intertidal biology in both summer and fall; and to the staff at both the Lodge and the Meadows of Nashville, who cared for him with tenderness and compassion in his last years.

Dr. Lyons was educated in the Manchester, CT schools (class of ’53). Among other pleasant memories of home, he was a communicant at St. Bridget’s church, the original lead drummer of St. Patrick’s Bagpipe Band, and served with Co. 1, Manchester Fire Dept. He also served in the U.S. Army as a neuropsychiatric technician in Germany, where he became fluent in the language and loved its culture and food forever after. After receiving his bachelor’s and master’s degree in psychology from the University of Connecticut, he became a teacher in elementary and special education and a guidance counselor in Glastonbury and West Hartford, CT. He earned his doctorate in psychology at the University of Texas and then enjoyed teaching in the University of Tennessee’s psychology department. Subsequently he engaged in private practice for many years with partners Dr. Janet Wallace and Dr. Rosemary Burr at The Developmental Center. He was active in local and state psychological matters and was a Fellow of the American College of Forensic Examiners. He was a founding member of the Knoxville Rape Crisis Center and a board member of Planned Parenthood.

Arrangements for a memorial service are pending and will be decided at a later date. 

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