Yolande Lyon Obituary

Name: Memorial service for Yolande Lyon
Start: 2014-05-03T15:00:00.000Z
Location: The Universalist Church

Yolande (Lonnie) Lyon died peacefully on Thursday March 6, 2014 at the Hebrew Home and Hospital in West Hartford, Ct. Born Iolanda Fargnoli January 21, 2014 in Hartford, Ct, Lonnie celebrated her 100th birthday this year with family, friends, caregivers and her 10 year old great great niece, Emma Heslin, who shared the same birthday. Lonnie was the daughter of the late Frederick and Maria (Faiola) Fargnoli. Lonnie loved life and nature. She loved flowers and birds and was often seen feeding the birds outside her apartment. She was a graduate of Bulkeley High School, New Britain Normal School and she earned a BS degree from NY University and a Masters of Public Health from the Yale School of Medicine. She worked for the Medical Society of New York, United Community Services of Boston, was a Health Consultant for the State of CA and worked for the Rhode Island Council for Community Services. Lonnie is survived by her brother, Enrico Fargnoli of West Hartford, her sister Mary LeFebvre of Danbury, Ct and several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her brothers Frederick and Daniel Fargnoli and her sisters Joanne Fargnoli, Ida Martocchio and Esther Uliano. Many thanks to her friend Mary O'Connell and to those special caregivers who showed her love and support during her time at Hebrew Health Care. A Memorial Service will be held May 3, 2014 at 11:00 AM, at The Universalist Church, 433 Fern St., West Hartford, CT.

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Published by Hartford Courant from Mar. 13 to Mar. 16, 2014.

Memories and Condolences
for Yolande Lyon

Sponsored by the family.

7 Entries

Sara Proctor, LtC, USA (Ret.)

March 10, 2024

"Lonnie" became a beloved family friend in Berkeley, California. She met my mother when they both worked at the California State Department of Public Health in the sixties. Lonnie frequently called and visited our home on La Loma Avenue in Berkeley. Their conversations included professional and personal topics, with much laughter, speculation and mutual support.

Lonnie generously extended her friendship to my sister and me, two teenagers who appreciated her kindness to our mother, Rebecca Proctor, M.D. Lonnie asked us about ourselves, and attentively listened as we responded. She remains a forever friend in my own heart and mind - and how I wish I had a photo of her to share.

Her nearby redwood shingle upstairs apartment on Oxford Street pleased her very much, with its proximity to the Public Health Department.

Lonnie also loved exploring the Bay Area, and shared with us a favorite new spot in San Francisco, the Coffee Cantata on Union Street, when that area began to gentrify and attract a chic, diverse clientele.

She loved a certain shade of blue, almost robin´s egg blue to match her eyes. Those blue eyes, her kind friendship, and astute interest in our shared world added to the mosaic of my slowly expanding youthful world. If only there were more like her to brighten our days and entice our minds.

Evelyn Holmstroem

July 23, 2021

I worked with Lonnie Lyon in the Bureau of Air Sanitation, California State Health Department, long, long ago. She put together "The Clean Air Quarterly," and I set it up on a Vari-typer. (Am so glad to have a computer now.) Wow, Lonnie lived to be 100. I am only 83!

Sara Seltzer

August 15, 2015

Lonnie was a wonderful family friend, and worked together at the Department of Public Health in Berkeley, California, with my mother, Dr. Rebecca Proctor. She was a loving, caring friend. Sara Seltzer, Walnut Creek, California

Christina Del Piero

March 23, 2014

Lonnie has been a life-long friend, like a second mother to me. She and my mother studied together at Yale, and my parents moved to Berkeley soon after Lonnie settled there. Lonnie knew me from the time that I was born; she took my most memorable baby pictures. I remember going on "a big adventure" with her into San Francisco, a first trip without my family, when I was a little girl. When I moved to Hartford in the mid 1990's, it was a joy to spend time with Lonnie, whether it be driving out to Guilford or sharing a Mother's Day lunch at the Atheneum. I loved Lonnie's keen intellect and sense of adventure. She had a broad and inquisitive mind, cared deeply about world events, and was a kind and loving friend who often asked wise and insightful questions that helped me see things in new ways. She had the capacity to walk right through barriers and make things happen with a fearlessness that continues to inspire me. I remember her enthusiasm for Yale, with her dedication to interviewing prospective students, and her love for the Unitarian Church. Lonnie appreciated people from varied backgrounds and life experiences because she was open to learning from them all. I am grateful to have seen her in October in her 100th year. Her friendship has been a special blessing!

March 18, 2014

I admired Lonnie's zest for life and courageous spirit.
You are in my thoughts and prayers as she passes on.
Blessings,
Ann Jones
Universalist Church member

Gary Bornstein

March 17, 2014

Loni was a neighbor of my father's at Westgate and my mother knew Joanne well through Dr. B.. What lovely ladies. I had the pleasure of spending time with Loni when I lived in W. Htfd., went with her to her Guilford house too. How great that she made it to 100.

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