WALTER GAEL LYON
Sept. 28, 1931 – April 17, 2015

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Walt Lyon of Kelseyville passed away April 17, 2015, after a short illness, surrounded by his treasured family.

He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Madelene; daughters, Kathy Windrem (Peter), Marie Kong (Tod) and Beth Keiffer (Bob); and sons, Thomas (Pam) and Jeffrey (Jayne). Also surviving are nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He also leaves his sister, Carolyn Echols (John). His beloved Border Collie, Nell, misses the daily outings they had together.

Walt served as an Army officer both on active duty and as a reservist for more than 15 years, but his life's work was in agriculture.

He was a pioneer in the winegrape industry in Lake County, as a founding member of Konocti Winery and President of Lake County Vintners for 38 years.

He served as a board member of the California Association of Winegrape Growers and was a founding board member of the Lake County Winegrape Commission.

A graduate of UC Davis, he was dedicated to keeping up with the current developments and research related to agriculture.

A man of many interests, Walt pursued various and assorted hobbies, a few of which were reading, aviation, fishing, clock-making and astronomy.

His love of adventure and learning inspired world travel with family and friends. His true passion was Model A Fords, taking special pride in the restoration of the 1931 coupe purchased by his parents shortly before he was born.

Walt was always willing to lend a hand, whether you were a neighbor, fellow farmer or community member.

Walt gave generously of his time to Boy Scouts, Taylor Observatory, Kelseyville Food Pantry and other organizations. He enjoyed leading nature hikes on Mt. Konocti and Clear Lake State Park.

A  celebration of life will be held on Sunday, May 3, at 3 p.m. at the pavilion in Clear Lake State Park, 5300 Soda Bay Road, Kelseyville.

For those wishing to attend, please bring a potluck dish, a folding chair and your memories of Walt to share.

In case of rain, the celebration will be held at the Holdenried Packing Shed on Benson Lane, Kelseyville.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Kelseyville Food Pantry, P.O. Box 310, Kelseyville, CA 95451 or Friends of Taylor Observatory, P.O. Box 538, Kelseyville, CA 95451.