Mary` Breck Lyon

Mary Breck Lyon, 80, of Newport, died Monday morning, June 30th, at the John Clarke Nursing Center in Middletown, going to join her daughter Susan who had predeceased her 18 years earlier. Mary leaves behind her husband of 58 years, Mansfield ("Pro") Lyon as well as three children - Tim, Julie, and Meg - and five grandchildren - Samantha, Alex, Emily, Louisa, and Marshall.Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Mary began her vocational career as founder and manager of the "Yankee Venture" bookstore in nearby Wallingford and then spent her early Newport years as her husband's right hand in the resuscitation of St. Michael's School. Subsequently she managed the Salve Regina University Bookstore for a quarter of a century, retiring from that position to work part-time in customer sales for the Newport Preservation Society. A graduate of Wellesley College, she was an avid reader and an enthusiastic theatre-goer, a frequent participant in Circle of Scholar courses, an on-stage performer in a recent church production of "The American Songbook Goes to War", and - during her Connecticut years - co-founder and co-coordinator of a church-connected coffee house. As a member of Trinity Church, past years found Mary serving on the Trinity Vestry, singing in the choir, helping to run the Women's Group, participating in the Church's TLC outreach program, and representing Trinity on the Aquidneck Island Deanery. She served on the board of Family Promise when that group was providing support for area homeless, having earlier played an instrumental part in the 1970's resettlement of Vietnamese refugees. At Newport's Martin Luther King Center Mary worked in the Food Pantry and helped in the delivery of food to home-bound recipients as part of the Center's developing Food-to-Friends program. She served on the board of the Women's Resource Center and was involved as co-chair in one of the organization's major fund-raising efforts. In the course of many years, Mary gave generously of her time and energy to a wide range of volunteer activities, approaching each of them - as one of her associates once observed - with a "quiet but very joyful sense of purpose." One result of that dedication was her selection by the Newport Daily News as "Co-Volunteer of the Year" in 2006.Funeral and burial arrangements are private. Her Memorial service will be held on Saturday, September 6, 2014, at 11am in Trinity Church, Queen Anne Square, Newport. In lieu of flowers, would-be donors are asked to make contributions in Mary's memory to The Susan E. Lyon Memorial Fund, c/o Fund Development, Hartford Hospital, 80 Seymour Street, Hartford CT 06102-5037. Service SEP 6. 11:00 AM Trinity Episcopal Church 1 Queen Anne Square Newport, RI, US