Leona Lyon

Leona Lyon, 88, of Van Meter, died Sunday, March 19, 2017, at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines. A visitation will be held from 5 to 8 p.m., Wednesday, March 22, at Ochiltree Funeral Service in Winterset. A funeral service will be held 10:30 a.m., Thursday, March 23, at Ochiltree’s, with burial to follow in the Union Chapel Cemetery in Madison County. Memorials to the Alzheimer’s Foundation and online condolences may be left at ochiltree.com. Leona Mae DeBok, daughter of William and Maybel (Gentry) DeBok was born September 27, 1928, in Madison County, Iowa. She graduated from Patterson High School in 1946 and was united in marriage with Forrest “Red” Lyon on July 9, 1949 in Winterset. During her working years Leona was a homemaker raising her children and assisting her husband on the farm. She later worked at JCPenny and volunteered at the Methodist Hospital in Des Moines. In her youth, she played basketball and was a tap dancer and all throughout her life she loved to dance. Leona was a great cook and everyone loved her sugar pie. She also enjoyed to garden and canned the produce. Leona was a talented seamstress and enjoyed crocheting and knitting. All this said, she was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother who cherished her family and the time spent with them. Those left to cherish her memory are her children, Bonnie (Dwight) Varce of Cherokee, Ronald D. (Vickie) Lyon of Van Meter, and Terry (Jan) Lyon of Van Meter; a daughter-in-law, Mary Jude Lyon of Waukee; 13 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, extended relatives and friends. Leona was preceded in death by her parents, husband, Forrest in 1975; a son, Gary Lyon and a daughter in infancy; a granddaughter Melissa Lyon; two brothers, Hubert and Herbert DeBok; two sisters, Leota Lull and Mayola Wetzel; and a daughter-in-law, Mary Kay Lyon.