Patrick Lyons – Brookings

A celebration of life for Patrick A. Lyons, former South Dakota State University Economics professor and campus advisor to numerous student groups, will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 15, in the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center on SDSUs campus. Remarks will be made at 2 p.m.
Patrick Arthur Lyons, 77, died Dec. 5, 2023, at the Neighborhoods in Brookings surrounded by his family, following a 12-year battle with Alzheimers disease.
Pat was born May 20, 1946, in Brookings to Tom and Shirley Lyons. His first true love was baseball, and he played every day as a kid. After graduating from Brookings High School in 1964 he attended South Dakota State University where he played on the golf team and graduated in 1968 with a bachelors degree in economics.
Following that, he earned a masters degree in business administration and a law degree from the University of South Dakota. After law school, Pat served as law clerk for the chief justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court in Pierre. He also worked for the Burroughs Corporation in Sioux City, IA, before returning to Brookings.
Pat began the career he loved most teaching in 1975 at South Dakota State University. He taught personal finance, legal environment of business, sales, and hospitality law. Pat was a beloved professor who used personal stories, humor, and common sense to transfer knowledge. His legendary handshake lesson was a favorite among students for decades. In recognition of his outstanding teaching, Pat was selected Teacher of the Year by students six times during his career.
In addition to teaching, Pat served as advisor to 50-plus students per year during his tenure at SDSU. He also served as the Student Association advisor, the Legal Aid advisor, the Econ Department student athlete recruiter, and the Hobo Day advisor for many years. In 2023 he was awarded the Hobo Day Spirit Award for his work as Hobo Day advisor. Pat loved interacting with people, and he regularly had a line of students outside his office door waiting to talk with him.
Pat met Nancy Neukom while serving as a judge at SDSUs Make it with Wool contest. Lets just say that their hearts were woven together from that point forward. They married in 1979 and had two daughters, Mandy and Meghan. Pat was a devoted parent coaching softball, shooting hoops in the driveway, attending music concerts, prepping public speeches for 4-H, helping with homework, instilling a love of golf, and teaching inclusion and empathy. Pat was also a phenomenal dog dad.
Pat served 33 years in the SD Army National Guard, rising to the rank of colonel.
He traveled monthly to Rapid City where he served in Judge Advocate General, providing legal guidance and representation, presenting classes on legal topics, and preparing wills for service members and their dependents. He also served several tours as the Inspector General at Camp Rapid.
As an active community member, Pat served as director of the United Campus Ministries, was an officer in U.S. Friends, and was active in the Brookings United Way and South Dakota Special Olympics. He served on the Brookings Board of Health committee, the Brookings Electronic Waste sub-committee, and the Edgebrook Golf Course advisory committee. He teamed up with some of his golfing buddies to pool their weekly winnings and establish an SDSU golf scholarship.
Pat enjoyed reading, farming, hunting, fixing up rental properties, watching the Weather Channel, and attending SDSU athletic events, concerts, and lectures. He was an avid golfer, and he liked making clubs in the shop he built in the basement. Most of all, Pat valued spending time with his family and friends.
Pat is survived by his wife Nancy; daughter Mandy Lyons and her husband Bill deBlonk of Brookings, and their children Chet and Wyatt; and daughter Meghan Calabro and her husband Joji of Prairie Village, KS, and their children Moxie and Maxton. He is also survived by sister Kris Hubbard of Sturgis; sister Frani Pilgrim and her husband Kevin of Gravette, AR; and nieces and nephews. Pat was preceded in death by his parents, two infant siblings, and brother-in-law Bruce Hubbard.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations in Pats name to the SDSU Foundation (c/o Patrick A. Lyons Scholarship), the Brookings Regional Humane Society, and the Alzheimers Association.