Peyton Lyon

LYON, Peyton Vaughan Professor Emeritus Carleton University Peacefully, on March 24 in Ottawa. Born on October 2, 1921, in Winnipeg to parents Herbert Redmond Lyon and Fredrica Iveagh Lee. He was a caring and much loved elder brother to twin sister Kathleen Lewis, Geoffrey, Vivienne Frampton, Fredrica Bolton (Floyd), and Vaughan (Nonie). His first wife and mother of his children, Frances Hazleton, died in 1981. He is survived by his wife, Ruth Thompson, and his loving children Russell (Janice Payne), Lee (Nancy Fischer), and Barbara. He spoke with great pride of the accomplishments of step-grandson Jeremy Taylor and granddaughters Amelia and Jessie Lyon. Peyton had chosen to leave high school early, to help support his family, when the war intervened. During WW2 he served in the RCAF as navigator in Wellington bombers (Wimpys) stationed in Sierra Leone. Later, at the University of Manitoba, he was a keen member of the debating team and President of the Student Union. He was particularly proud of his success as an all-Manitoba middle distance runner, despite an unusual gait due to the effects of a childhood fever. Awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, he took Frances and Russell to Oxford where he made many lifelong friends. Peyton joined the Canadian diplomatic corps for a posting to Bonn, Germany in 1954. This experience was to shape his future interests as a teacher first at the University of Western Ontario and then at Carleton, where he served for a term as Chairman of the Department of Political Science. Peyton was a remarkably committed and productive academic. He was an excellent teacher and devoted to his students. His commitment to Canada took him far beyond the "ivory tower". All his life he engaged with passion and intelligence in the public debates of the time, supporting and contesting popular positions as his convictions dictated. He became a noted expert on Canadian foreign policy, with an emphasis on Europe and NATO. Author of several books and numerous publications, he was sought after as a media commentator. Peyton maintained a large and varied circle of contacts in diplomatic and political circles, and he was a friend and mentor to many. Later in life he became an ardent advocate for Palestinian justice in the Middle East. He was an inveterate writer of letters to the editor. Peyton shared, with his twin Kay, an absorbing interest in, and lifelong connection with, a large extended family. He loved modern art and opera, despite possessing what he called a 'tin ear'. A notoriously absent-minded driver, he often claimed with pride never to have had an accident 'going forwards'. Peyton enjoyed his companions and loving care for six years at the Colonel By Residence. His family would like to express their gratitude to the staff at the Ottawa Hospital for their kind and compassionate care during his last week. A memorial gathering will be held at First Unitarian Church, 30 Cleary Ave. on Saturday, April 23 at 2 pm. Reception to follow. Donations in his memory may be made to Canadian-Palestinian Education Exchange at www.cepal.ca or the Royal Ottawa Foundation for Mental Health.