William Lyons Home Page

Here I am with Matt and my mother, who lives in Germantown, next to Memphis. My father, Dr. Harold Lyons passed away on August 6, 1999. He was retired as Professor of Chemistry at Rhodes College where he taught and mentored many students who later became physicians and scientists. In addition he was a widely published scholar. My brother Mike lives in Memphis and provides speech therapy services to children.. My brother Chris works for the State Department. He and his wife Margarita, along with their children Lhessa, Lauren, and David live in Centreville, Virginia.

I grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, graduating from Memphis Central High School in 1966. Then I went to Rhodes College in Memphis, graduating in 1970 in Political Science. Then I went to graduate school at the University of Oklahoma, and got a Ph.D. in 1974 in Political Science. My first job was at Oklahoma State University. By then I was the father of Laura, born in 1973. Later I moved to Knoxville and the University of Tennessee, where I am today. My son Matt was born in 1978. I married Gay Henry on June 17, 1995. We moved in August, 1995 to 8507 Corteland Drive in Knoxville. I have held a variety of positions at UT. I am now on leave as Professor of Political Science while serving as the Senior Director of Policy Development for the City of Knoxville.

Gay Henry Lyons is Professor of Political Science at Pellissippi State Technical Community College in Knoxville. Gay received her Ph.D in Political Science at the University of Tennessee in May 2002. Gay is the managing editor of Knoxville Magazine.. She also writes the "Wireless Kitchen" column for Metropulse.

Laura graduated from Bearden High School in 1991 and from Rhodes College in 1995. She was Phi Beta Kappa with a Psychology major. Laura is a Certified Financial Planner.® with The Trust Company in Knoxville.

Matt is a partner in the firm of Guibao, Hutchinson, and Lyons in Memphis. He.graduated from the The University of Memphis Law School in May, 2004, after graduating from Rhodes College in May, 2000, where he majored in Political Science. He is a 1996 graduate of Bearden High School in Knoxville.

Liz graduated from Bearden High School in 2004.. She is pursuing her studies at Pellissippi State in Knoxville. She is also working for Chez Guevara restaurant and has various babysitting jobs about town.

Aussie, our beloved German Shepherd, passed away last year, but not before befriending Caesar, a cat of undetermined breed who now provides comic relief.