John Lyons, our dad, brother, uncle, grandfather and friend, passed away peacefully at St. Patrick's Hospital on Friday night, July 9th surrounded by his loving family.  John was born in Butte on May 29, 1938 the first of four boys to Fran and Grace Dwyer Lyons.

John attended Immaculate Conception Catholic Elementary School and graduated from Butte Central High School in 1957 a year after his class because he spent a year in bed due to nephritis.  Never one to sit idle, he spent the year learning leatherwork at the urging of his mother, a craft he passed on to family.  His childhood was full of fun and hard work.  Like many of his era, he worked many jobs to help his family, including construction, a stint with the Forest Service, and painting cars in high school.  When not working, he enjoyed spending time at the family cabin in Sawmill Gulch in Elk Park, and breaking and riding horses with his uncle.

After high school, John graduated from Western Montana College.  He then taught Industrial Arts in the Butte School District for over 30 years. Those who were lucky enough to have him for a metal shop teacher probably will still have their project--many of them personalized to meet the needs of his students or their families.

John married JoAnn Feeney in 1971 and was blessed with two daughters, Elizabeth ("Beth") and Rebecda ("Becky").  He used his many talents to build both a beautiful house in town at the foot of the "Big M," and cabin in Elk Park with an outdoor heated swimming pool (that he of course built himself, including the heating system) where they spent every summer entertaining family and friends.  He loved to spend time in the garage building and fixing anything.  Instead of buying something new, including a new tool for a job, he would just build it from scratch, often with his father-in-law Butch Feeney.  The medium did not matter to John, he was equally skilled working with either metal or wood.  The term "handyman" does not do John justice; he was a craftsman who instilled his knowledge and love for creating with all of those around him.

John enjoyed the outdoors.  He spent time hunting and fishing with his brothers and father-in-law, and enjoyed snowmobiling, especially with his girls and brothers.  John being John, he even built a snowmobile of his own design with parts he made himself and a motor he already had.

John is survived by his daughters and their families Beth and Mickey McCarthy (Danny and Kennedy) and Becky and Doug Peoples (Shelby, Dougie, and Ryan) and his brothers and families Fran and Robin (Jessie and Brandan), Jerry and Kim, and Dick and Bonnie (Lyndsi and Chelsi).

He was preceded in death by his parents, in-laws (Marg and Butch Feeney), sister in law, (Patti Feeney Cooper) and his wife JoAnn.

Dad taught us all so much and was a role model for his brothers.  We will miss his witty sense of humor but know that he is so happy to not be tripping over that darn oxygen cord.

Services will be held Wednesday the 14th at the Immaculate Conception Church beginning with visitation at 11:00 am followed by Mass of Christian Burial at noon.  A reception will be held at 2:30 at the Metals Sports Bar and Grill where we can gather to reminisce about all the fun times we remember spending with him.

Memorials in John's name can be made to the Pat McCarthy Memorial scholarship at Montana Tech or to the Butte Central Education Foundation in care of Mairissa's Way or to a charity of the donor's choice.