Donald Avery Lyman

January 31, 2023 marked the last sweetly, and often wildly inappropriate comment, the last inexplicable, uncontrollable laughter, the last act of so many acts of kindness, and the last loving embrace that Donald Avery Lyman ever imparted to those he loved.

He was given the gift of life on a sweltering day on the 9^th of September in 1953.  Now he has given it back.  This due to his manufacturer’s warranty being expired and his faulty hardware could no longer be replaced or upgraded.  He remained on hold with his maker for the last few years but no one was available to take his call and was eventually cut off without the option to leave a message or callback number.  But he did not go without leaving an indelible mark on the lives he touched.

His first acquaintances, (save for the doctor and nurses that delivered him, who played a vital albeit quite forgettable role), were Thomas “Wayne” Lyman and Joan Hoffman Lyman.  His parents. They raised him along with his older siblings, Richard and David until they decided you could never have too much of a good thing and added Kevin, Lisa, and Jason to the brood.

Donald marched to a drummer who never took professional lessons. This led him on many paths less traveled where he found great love and joy along the way. He often remarked that he wouldn’t change a thing because even the painful threads have an indispensable role in the fabric of his life.

His first marriage came fully equipped with three beautiful children. Robbie, Donnie and Erica Fugate.  His son Nathan, the apple of his eye, came along shortly after that completing his desire to be a father.

Then seventeen years ago the fates must have been having a particularly good day because they decided to smile down upon him once again. Through a series of very fortunate, and quite unbelievable events, they reunited him with a girl he’d known and loved in his youth.

It was kismet. Actually, it was Sharon.  He spent the next seventeen years telling her multiple times a day, “You’re BEAUTIFUL dammit!”  If only we had a dollar for every time he uttered that phrase we’d all be going on a cruise after the funeral service instead of a luncheon buffet at Shadowbrook Resort.  Sharon also came to the party with two sons, Dustin and Shawn Randolph, finally fulfilling what a gypsy fortuneteller told Donald decades earlier… that he “would have six children… sort of.” The “sort of” part confounded him.  In retrospect though it finally made sense. He watched as the family grew by partners and spouses and most importantly by grandchildren.  All of whom he adored.

Donald never won a Nobel Prize, had a building named after him, or went into space (unless you count a few years he spent in the late 1960’s).   But he loved to take every opportunity to be a natty dresser. He loved costume parties and always put together the best ensembles.  Of course, he had a kilt and looked as Scottish as any Donald should.  He loved to read and listen to music.  But the most amazing thing about Donald was that within his, shall we say, slight stature beat the heart of a giant for nearly 70 years.  He was kind and generous to a fault.  He was always doing for others while he, himself, would do without. Selflessness was a code he silently lived by right until his last breath.

He was the first of the Wayne and Joan Lyman progeny to go and statistically speaking, there is a likelihood he won’t be the last.  Hopefully he will put a good word in for the rest of us.

In lieu of flowers Donald would ask that you take the time to smile more broadly, love more deeply, and never take yourself too seriously. And if you are feeling even a modicum of the generosity Donald is so widely known for, and since he is no longer here to do so, you may feel compelled to help carry on his torch by donating to the Hospice of the Sacred Heart without whom his last days would have been infinitely more difficult for all concerned.

Funeral services will be held Monday February 6^th at 10 am from the Harding-Litwin Funeral Home 123 W. Tioga St. Tunkhannock.  A viewing will be held from 9am until the time of the service.  Interment will be held at a later date at the Lynn Cemetery.  For online condolence or directions visit www.aplitwinfuneralhomes.com