Howard Wayne Lyon

Howard Wayne Lyon, age 82, of Beaumont, California, passed away unexpectedly on April 9, 2024, in Phoenix, Arizona, where he was helping care for his beloved wife, Louise. He was born on April 27, 1941 in Chicago, Illinois. The family relocated to southern California in the mid-1940s and never looked back. They enjoyed coastal California life to the fullest, building a house with ocean views, spending time at the beach and in the water, and camping throughout the state.

Howard was a loving husband and father with a great sense of humor. Howard is survived by his wife Louise, son Greg, daughter Leslie, and their mother Sherry, Greg's wife Kathy, twin granddaughters Avery and Sydney, stepdaughters Laura and Liane, and their families, his brother Gary and wife Janet, aunt Lorraine, and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father Howard, mother Evelyn, and sister Joan.

Howard graduated in 1959 from North High School in Torrance, and received an AA degree from El Camino College in electronics. He served in the Air Force from 1963 to 1967. His electronics experience from college and the Air Force led him to a long career at IBM from 1967 to 1998. First as a field engineering account representative, and later, project manager, he worked to support large clients in the airline, aerospace, and financial industries with their enterprise computing technologies. Following his retirement from IBM, he continued working in technology by teaching computer skills in the community.

In his free time, Howard was a prolific photographer, documenting his travels and family events throughout his life. He developed an early passion for motorcycles riding around the neighborhood hills of Palos Verdes and on family vacations. He also loved playing tennis, where he met his lasting love, Louise. They married in 1989.

Howard's other passion for many years was boating. He spent much of his free time cruising the coast and local islands, fishing, diving, and tinkering with engines on a series of boats over a couple decades. He and Louise partnered with Gary and Janet on their final boat, the Sea Lyon, and became regulars at Catalina Island. They hosted family and friends, and the ultimate water dog, their yellow lab Taffy, for many relaxing times in the water and around town in Avalon.

After retirement, Howard and Louise traded in the coast for new adventures inland, in the Four Seasons community in Beaumont. There they built their dream home, played a lot more tennis, adopted another yellow lab, Katy, and Howard rediscovered his love of motorcycles. He met like-minded friends and neighbors who joined him on some epic riding adventures, including tours of the California Missions, national parks, and several completions of the annual Southern California Motorcycle Association's Three Flags Classic, each covering over 2100 miles from Mexico to Canada in just four days.

In recent years, both Howard and Louise experienced some health setbacks that limited their activities, but they still cherished their time together and the community they called home. Even when Louise moved to Phoenix recently for her memory care, he wanted to stay by her side. He was so devoted to the love of his life, and often said Louise was his best audience. He wanted to join her in Phoenix just to be able to sit together, talk, and make each other laugh every day.

Celebration of Life arrangements will be announced at a later date. Those wishing to honor Howard's memory can donate to one of the charitable organizations he supported, including the ASPCA (ASPCA.org) or Best Friends Animal Society (BestFriends.org).

Howard will be dearly missed by his family and friends. May he rest in peace.