Louis Mosle Lyon – Oct. 28, 1944 -Dec. 15, 2019
Louis Mosle Lyon filled his 75 years with love of earth, sky and family.
Growing up in Hope Ranch in Santa Barbara, Calif., Louis’s passions were surfing, ”tinkering” with cars and riding motorcycles. During the U.S. war in Vietnam, he served as a radar technician on the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Princeton. After his military service he earned a two-year degree from Santa Barbara Community College.
Inspired by a talk at SBCC by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, he became a Transcendental Meditation teacher. In 1974, Maharishi sent Louis to Mexico City to establish a meditation center there. Louis credited his 40-year, twice-daily practice of TM for sustaining his mental, spiritual and physical well-being.
A carpenter, craftsman and mechanic, Louis helped build his first home on Shepard Mesa Drive in Carpenteria, Calif. Carrying on a paternal tradition of woodworking, he crafted custom furniture.
He married Elizabeth Redditt Lyon, then moved to Corvallis, Ore., where he launched his business, Land Management Services. He won contracts for roadside brush-cutting throughout western Oregon forests. Midwife-assisted home birth brought two children to Louis and Elizabeth. During 1986 the family moved to Eugene, Ore. Elizabeth and Louis later divorced and he re-partnered with Helen Hollyer in 1994.
Louis treasured his memories of flights with his sister made by his parents, both private pilots, to summer camps in the San Juan islands and to national parks. During his later years, he enjoyed flying his vintage Cessna 172 and later his Lancair Legacy experimental plane. He liked reminiscing with many pilot friends he met at Creswell Airport.
He loved working on the 87 acres in the Camas Swale Valley west of near Creswell owned by his life partner Helen, where he built a trail system, well house, greenhouse, pasture shelter, paddock fence for her American Saddlebred horses, and a raised-bed garden and semi-dwarf fruit orchard protected by the deer-fenced enclosure he named Fort Lyon.
He spent leisure hours with Helen and their Doberman pinschers walking the trails to observe the abundant wildlife and watching the alpenglow on the Three Sisters mountains 60 miles to the east as the sun set to the west.
Louis is survived by his sister, Kathryn Mosle Lyon of Santa Barbara; and by his son and daughter, Christopher Redditt Lyon and Elaine Carol Redditt Lyon, both of Eugene-Springfield.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Muriel Mosle Lyon and father, Richard Ganson Lyon.
A celebration of life will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020 at the Experimental Aircraft Association clubhouse at Creswell Airport, 83501 Melton Road. Take the Creswell exit off I-5, east over the freeway on Cloverdale Road, turn left on Emerald Parkway, left on first cross street (Melton Road) and left again to stay on Melton Road, follow signs and balloons to the EAA building.
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