John "Jack" Lyons

Jack was blessed with a long life, a loving wife, a large family and good neighbors. And being satisfied in his faith in God, the future of the family farm with his son Steve and grandsons, and the love of his family and friends, he departed our company on May 13, 2025, at the age of 92.
Friends and family may visit from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 17, 2025, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Key West. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m. at the church with Msgr. Thomas Toale officiating. Burial will follow at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Dubuque, Iowa.
Jack was born October 27, 1932, the third of eight children to the Irish-Catholic family of James and Marion Lyons. The family stayed close all their lives and Jack will enjoy joining Anne, Bob, Gerry and Jane who went before him. Jack will be deeply missed by his surviving siblings Ray (Sandy), Joe (Barb) and Linda (Bill) Mullinex.
Jack married Helen (Dunne) in 1952 and over 73 years together built a life, a farm and a family. Jack and Helen enjoyed many triumphs and endured a few tragedies, the worst of which was the loss of their youngest son Jimmy on his 23rd birthday. Jack was incredibly proud of his other four children who survive him: Steve (Lynn) Lyons, Cheri (Tom) Stockel, Dave (Sandee) Lyons and Jane (Dan) Mueller; his 12 grandchildren Craig, Tom, Travis, Cole, Cali, Riley, Jarod, Kelsey, Maureen, Hannah, Ali and Jack; his 23 great grandchildren, along with his loving wife Helen, who raised their beautiful family together for 73 years.
Jack believed in hard work, fair dealing and frugal living. He spent four decades working at the Dubuque Pack until its closure. But his real work was on the farm. He took over the rural Bernard family farm in 1965 and raised his family and his cattle. There may have been bigger cattlemen than Jack, but none more genuine. Whether that was as the smallest child leading the largest calf in 1941 at Silver Acres Race Track (now Flora Park), a proud young father watching his children win championship ribbons at the Dubuque County Fair or as an old farmer smiling when he would hear the auctioneer announce "next in the ring for sale are a set of calves from John Lyons and you'll never see better".
He would say there was nothing special about him, yet he could call a euchre hand after the first trick, tell you exactly when a calf would drop and make a piece of equipment last forever. His reputation as a penny-pincher was legend as was his love for baseball. He was a good player, a good coach and a life-long fan of the Cincinnati Reds. He loved to play poker with his friends and hunt with his grandkids.
The family would like to express its heartfelt thanks to Hospice of Dubuque. Shout-out to Amanda.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Inspiration Stables 21177 317th St, La Motte, IA 52054, St. Joseph Key West or Hospice of Dubuque.
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