Eleanor Richardson Lyons

1934 - 2026

Valeria Eleanor Richardson Lyons passed away Sunday March 15, 2026 after 91 years with us. She was born July 18, 1934 to Jack Logan Richardson, Jr. and Opal Valeria Vaughan Richardson in Louisville, Kentucky and was the youngest of two.

While in Kentucky she would go on to become a graduate of the DuPont Manuel High School in 1952, a member of the Alpha Xi Delta Sorority, a graduate of The University of Kentucky with her bachelor’s degree in 1956, a member of the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, a wife to Edward Albert Lyons July 21, 1956 and a mother to two children, Melanie Diane Lyons Martin and Timothy Edward Lyons.

Eleanor was a traditional matriarch who reinvented herself whenever her family needed. Whether it was working as an accountant for her father’s law firm as a new wife and soon-to-be mother or leaving the state she’d always called home, she rose to meet every challenge without hesitation. That very call would come when the Lyons family made their big move to St. Louis, Missouri in 1968. A new culture and a new way of life were simply challenges meant to be overcome - and she did just that.

As a member of the Webster Groves Chapter of the DAR as well as the P.E.O. International Organization and The Mason Jar Questers, Eleanor would come to be known as formidable in her associations as she was in her societal contributions. A friend to some and a neighbor to many, Eleanor followed her natural abilities to find great success in real estate as a Broker Sales Associate. What began as a means to support her family burgeoned into a 50-year career with a Reputation for Results and a multi-generational legacy of a business. Even the local radio waves sang her praise as an agent but she could hardly hear it over the happiness she had brought to so many.

Wherever Eleanor was, a phone was never far. A true Hall of Famer in real estate and in the hearts of everyone who knew her, she had little patience for limitations and so all the time in the world for a phone call. Any time or place, however long or short you needed she could always be found helping homeowners, friends, neighbors and family alike. Whether you found her on a mailer in your mailbox or across the Christmas dinner table, her presence was one to put you immediately at ease. She turned simple moments into unforgettable memories, spreading the joy of just one life across the lives of many.

Beloved mother of Melanie (Kent) Martin and Timothy Lyons; dearest grandmother of Timothy Martin, Melissa Martin, Larry N. Jones, Jr. and Jack (Charissa) Lyons; treasured great-grandmother of Clementine Lyons; loving daughter of the late Jack, Jr. and Valeria Richardson; our dear aunt, great-aunt and friend of many.

We will look for her in the sun and stars that seem to shine all the more brightly now with her Heavenly presence.

Visitations will be held at:
The SCHRADER Funeral Home and Crematory
14960 Manchester Road at Holloway Road, Ballwin, Missouri
Thursday, April 9, from 4-8 pm;

Manchester United Methodist Church - Historic Chapel
Friday, April 10, at 10-11am

Services for her funeral will be held at:

Manchester United Methodist Church - Historic Chapel
129 Woods Mill Road, Manchester, Missouri
Friday, April 10, at 11am

Interment will be at Manchester United Methodist Cemetery.

Friends may sign the family’s on-line guestbook at Schrader.com.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The Humane Society of Missouri  in honor of Eleanor R. Lyons.