Mansfield Allen "Pro" Lyon

NEWPORT, R.I. - Mansfield Allen "Pro" Lyon, 84, of Newport, R.I. died Friday, Sept. 4, 2015, at Newport Hospital. Longtime Rhode Island resident, Pro actively and passionately participated in many levels of the educational, volunteer, social, and religious community for the past five decades.

Born at Women's Laying In hospital in Boston in 1930, Pro was raised in Wallingford, Conn., by parents Mansfield A. Lyon, Sr., and Elizabeth Webster Lyon. His education included graduation from Westminster Preparatory School in 1949 and Yale University in 1954. He married Mary Alicia Breck in 1956 and the couple, in Pro's words "began making babies faster than pay raises" and had 4 children by 1964. Early career years were spent with a family publishing business in Wallingford, preparing a guide to independent secondary schools. Moving to Rhode Island in 1971 to become headmaster of St. Michael's Day School, Pro helped rebuild the school, teaching and coaching in every vacancy that presented itself, eventually shepherding it from church-owned status to its present day independence. Pro ultimately retired in 2004 from a second career as an Aquidneck Island real estate agent before committing himself to Newport volunteer activities. Pro self-described his sense of volunteerism as "an awareness that there will always be a person or persons who have less than we have in some aspect of life- be it health, possessions, or opportunities." That attitude kept him in constant motion, teaming up with Mary over the last 15 years at various endeavors at the Edward King Senior Center, The Women's Resource Center, the Martin Luther King food pantry, Newport Homeless Project, Roger's High Mentor program, as well as Vestry and tour guide duties at Trinity Church. These tireless efforts earned the couple Newport Daily News' Volunteer of the Year award in 2006. Despite a bout with polio at age 13, Pro's life was never a sedentary one. He cherished spending time with his family and the diversity they presented. He found great satisfaction in the water, spending many hours on the Connecticut River and Narragansett Bay sailing, boating, fishing and swimming. An accomplished singer, guitarist and storyteller, Pro never shied from a chance to entertain. Theater enlivened him, both on and off the stage. He had a thirst for knowledge he shared with wit and grace. He loved a roomful of humanity and always got that love in return. Pro is preceded in death by his wife, Mary Breck Lyon (2014;) and his daughter, the Rev. Susan Elizabeth (1996).

Pro is survived by his brothers, Dan Lyon (Jan,) of Wallingford, and Peter Bunting (Karen,) of Cheshire; son Tim (Deb,) of Baudette, Minn.; and daughters, Julie Borden (Tom,) of Newport, R.I., and Meg Garruto (Paul,) of Weymouth, Mass.; and grandchildren, Samantha, Emily, Louisa, Alex, and Marshall.

A service in Pro's memory will be held Saturday, Nov. 21, at Trinity Church in Newport, R.I. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made on Pro's behalf to the Susan E. Lyon Memorial Fund, c/o Fund Development, Hartford Hospital, 80 Seymour St., Hartford, CT 06102.