Obituary: Lyson, Leonard Merlin
Age 89
He was one of 10 siblings helping their parents work their country farm.
Right after WWII he welded in the California shipyards to help rebuild our navy fleet.
Leonard worked for 33 years and retired from Kaiser Aluminum in Spokane as a lead welder.
One of Leonard’s life mottos was to enjoy his work every single day.
Leonard was recognized as someone who could build or fix anything.
He may not have had a formal engineering degree, but he was one of the best engineers in capability.
Kaiser Aluminum often took advantage of his skills to keep their heavy duty mill equipment running.
He fell in love with his neighbor Lena (Pickens) and they married October 21st, 1948.
Lena and Leonard have three children, seven grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.
He is survived by his wife Lena of 66 years and his three children: Keith Lyson, Karen Lyson Pirello, and Garry Lyson.
Leonard is also survived by two younger brothers, Allen and Marlin.
Leonard and his wife enjoyed traveling together and have seen 48 of the 50 states.
They have also visited and toured numerous countries overseas.
One of their more unique adventures was Egypt.
Anyone that ever traveled with Leonard and Lena had a great deal of fun as Leonard was in his element adventuring around the USA he was so proud of and the rest of the world.
Some of Leonard’s favorite things were: family gatherings; fishing; travel; photography; woodworking (scrolling); and listening to all types of music.
Later in life Leonard learned to play the harmonica and was a member of a harmonica group for several years.
Leonard was often thought of as a person with nine lives due to his survival of numerous life threatening accidents.
Due to his size, strength, and shear will to live, he survived.
His survival may have been part of a “grand plan” in that he also was responsible for the saving of multiple other lives due to his bodily strength and his quick responsiveness.
Visitation will be on Friday, March 6 from 2:00 - 6:00 p.m. at Hazen and Jaeger Valley Funeral Home, 1306 N. Pines Rd., Spokane Valley.
A celebration of life will begin at 1:30pm on Saturday, March 7, 2015 at Hazen and Jaeger Valley Funeral Home.