John H. Lyons Jr.

John "Jack" H. Lyons, Jr., MD, age 95, died at home in the early morning hours of Thursday, May 9, 2024, in the presence of his loving family. Jack was the oldest of three children born to Dr. John H. Lyons and Grace Sorg Lyons of Washington, DC. As a young man, his education at Portsmouth Priory and then Virginia Military Institute (VMI) helped to shape his character. As a young equestrian, he was a member of the cavalry at VMI. After graduation he returned to VMI to teach physics, but after two years decided to follow the example of his father - a kind and prominent surgeon in Washington, DC - and went to medical school. He first attended George Washington University Medical School for two years, and then transferred to Harvard Medical School from whence he graduated in 1955. During these years, he and his future wife Teresa (Terry) Saul Gardiner formed a friendship, writing letters to one another and spending time together when he was home in DC. After a month-long visit and several more months of frequent letters, the two married on November 8, 1955.
He went to Vanderbilt University for his internship and then began his residency at Emergency Hospital in Washington, DC. His residency was interrupted by US Army duty. He went with his wife and two children to Heidelberg, Germany where he worked as a surgeon at the 130th Station Hospital. While in Germany, he gained valuable surgical and language experience; and there they welcomed their only daughter to their family. Upon returning to the US in 1959, he took a position at Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital in Hanover, NH to complete his residency. After that, he went with his family of now four children to Boston where he did research and surgery at the Peter Bent Brigham. He soon returned to Hanover, NH, working at Dartmouth Medical School, and then began his career as a surgeon at Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital. His career in the Upper Valley spanned decades, during which he was the one-time chief of general and vascular surgery, Director of the intensive care unit, and Director of the surgical residency program.
After Jack retired from surgery, he found a new outlet for his energies: berry farming in Thetford, VT. He became known as the "raspberry man", growing and selling pick-your-own raspberries using the honor system. He also began gardening more at home alongside Terry, taking over their vegetable garden, and freeing her up to try her hand at floral gardening.
Several years later he began teaching Anatomy at Dartmouth Medical School, a job he also truly loved. He began to make annual trips with Terry and some of his medical students to Guatemala to learn Spanish and study medical care as practiced in Latin America, which shaped several of his students' careers. In this time period he became a cofounder of Willing Hands and served as board president for 10 years. Along with his wife he served the now-flourishing organization, which helps recover fresh nutritious food for people who need it. Their first of many Willing Hands volunteer gardens was located at his raspberry farm in Thetford, VT. He also received the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award from Dartmouth's Thomas P. Almy Chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society. It was named in his honor as the John H. Lyons, M.D., Award.
Jack was a dedicated, loving, and kind husband, father, brother, grandfather, and great grandfather. He cultivated in his family a sense of intellectual and humanistic curiosity, kindness, wonder, moral values, as well as promoting service and generosity to the less privileged. Together the family formed cherished memories of camping adventures, canoe trips, and traveling the world. Jack and Terry's most recent trip with their grandchildren to the Galapagos Islands in 2015 will definitely be one of those happy experiences that their grandchildren will remember for their entire lives.
He is survived by his wife Terry and their progeny: son Dr. John H. Lyons, III of Durango, CO (and grandson J. Erik Lyons); son William Gwynn Lyons and wife Susan Diesel of Norwich, VT (and granddaughters Gwynn and Carmen Lyons); daughter Tracy Lyons Rodriguez and husband Zane Rodriguez of Norwich, VT (and granddaughter Teresa Rodriguez Murtagh with husband Brian Murtagh, and great-grandchildren Jack, Georgina, and Poppy; grandson Zane J. Rodriguez; and granddaughter Grace Rodriguez Bevilacqua with husband Dr. Michael Bevilacqua, and great-grandson Tommy, and another on the way; and son Dr. Robert Joseph Lyons and wife Judy Lyons of Holyoke, MA (and granddaughter C. Michaela Lyons). He is also survived by one brother, Joseph Stewart Lyons of Baltimore, MD. He was preceded in death by his parents and one sister, Joan Kramer of Wye Mills, Maryland.
Jack was interred in a private committal ceremony at Hillside Cemetery in Norwich, VT, the first inhabitant of the new 'green' burial section of the cemetery. A celebration of his life will be held at the Norwich Inn from 12 to 3 p.m. on Father's Day, June 16, 2024. Friends and family are invited. Knight Funeral Home of White River Junction, VT is honored to be entrusted with Jack's services; online condolences may be made at
www.knightfuneralhomes.com