Nelda (Plummy) A. Lyons

Nelda (Plummy) A. Lyons, 82, passed away on May 16, 2020 after a long illness with Alzheimer’s Disease.  It was a beautiful morning to enter heaven.

Plummy was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and raised in Euclid & Pepper Pike, Ohio.  She attended Carnegie Mellon and Kent State University where she met her husband of 61 years, Richard (Dick) Lyons.  Plummy loved her sorority life there in the Delta Gamma Sorority and Dick a Phi Sigma Kappa.  Plummy and Dick were married on April 4, 1959 at St. Francis of Assisi church in Gates Mills.

Plummy and dearest friend Jane Reece, founded the library at Hillel Academy and they worked tirelessly to create a wonderful facility for the children.  Plummy was very proud of the work they accomplished there. She retired from Hillel Academy after many years there.  Plummy resided in the Akron Area since her marriage to Dick in 1959.   Plummy and Dick raised their 3 children on Morley Avenue, Malden Avenue and finally moved to her last home on Brookshire Road in 1972.  She loved to have beautiful flowers in her garden and hanging baskets from her deck.  

Plummy and her family were long time active members of St. Sebastian Parish and elementary school and most recently attended Guardian Angels Church.  Her faith was very important to her.

Plummy will be remembered for her beautiful singing voice and artistic talent, her smaller paintings were hung all around her house with her happy childhood memories of the German section of Pittsburgh where her grandparents lived for most of their lifetime.  She sang for many years with the Akron Symphony and the St. Sebastians choir.  She loved to sing and play piano to the “Messiah” and “Ave Maria”.

Plummy always loved to go to dinner and the movies on the weekends with Dick, loved to watch the Hallmark Channel, Days of our Lives and way back when “Dark Shadows” and she loved Tom Jones. Poor Dick was always waiting for her to finish up at the Clinique and Lancome counters at Macy’s.   She never seemed to enjoy a good Tribe game even though so much time in previous years was spent in WABL watching Dick coach and Chris & Patrick play. 

Plummy loved to be a funny and be the life of the party. I can remember the evening she & Dixie came home with wigs from an evening shopping trip that they were seriously going to wear out in public. Her long fake wig that we used to all wear and joke around in.  The family cookouts and holidays with her entire extended family over the past 61 years were always something to be  remembered and are still laughed at and talked about today when all the family is together.  We will always remember when Thanksgiving centerpiece caught on fire.

Plummy is preceded in death by her son, Christopher in 2005; and by her parents, Nelda Rose Moore and William John Moore, Sr. 

She is survived by her dearly devoted husband, Richard; daughter, Jillian (Tim) May;  son, Patrick (Catherine);  4 granddaughters, Jennifer Rabel (Brian), Amy Forristal (Jason), Kristin Horomanski (Evan), Clare Lyons , 8 great-grandchildren; her sister, Judy Hall (Mike); brother, Bill Moore (Felicia) and many nieces and nephews and several grand dogs and great-grand dogs.  

The family would love to thank Mrs. Bea Hickman who took such wonderful care of our mom for the past 14 years.  Bea had a wonderful group of women who had devoted themselves to taking care of Mom in Margie, Marshorie, Joyce, Candace, Paula, Thelma, Wendy, Debbie and long ago, Betty and Helen.  We all would have been lost without them.  A special thank you to Suzanne & Rusty.

The Hospice of Western Reserve is a wonderful organization who has helped us through this journey this past year, Stacy Westphal, Jacki Kustic-Markowski and all the people behind the scenes and Western Reserve Navigator’s Jan Mecklenberg for helping us for several years before hospice was needed.

We all love and miss you mom, in our hearts, minds and souls we know that you are pain free and with God and your son in heaven.

“The lady with the beautiful voice is silent”

Mass of Christian Burial 11am Saturday, May 30, 2020 at Guardian Angels Catholic Church, 1676 Cleveland Massillon Rd. in Copley, where calling hours will be held 10-11am.

Interment at Rose Hill Burial Park.

SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES MUST BE FOLLOWED

In lieu of flowers, donations to the Alzheimer's Association.

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