[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 16, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E238]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO WILLIAM ``BILLY'' LYON

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 16, 2011

  Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a longstanding 
business leader in South Alabama, Mr. William ``Billy'' Lyon, who 
recently passed away at the age of 80.
  A native of Mobile, Mr. Lyon graduated from Murphy High School in 
1944 and attended the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina before 
joining the Navy in 1945, where he served on the USS Chicago. Following 
the end of the war, he attended Auburn University and the University of 
North Carolina.
  A natural entrepreneur, Mr. Billy became a homebuilder with a 
lifelong passion for commercial and residential real estate development 
in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and Georgia.
  He developed scores of local residential subdivisions, including 
Brookwood, Blacksher Downs, Tuthill Lane Estates and Carriage Hills, 
and sold lots to nearly every builder in Mobile. He also partnered and 
developed numerous commercial shopping centers, including Mobile's Bel 
Air Mall, which opened in 1966.
  He was one of the founding board members of Commercial Guaranty Bank 
in Mobile, which later became SouthTrust Bank, and also served on the 
Boards of Bel Air Corporation, Mobile Gas Company, First Southern 
Federal, Altus Bank, the Drug Education Council, and the Alabama School 
of Math and Science.
  Mr. Billy was the longest active member of the Home Builders 
Association of Mobile and received the E. L. Jones award in 2002. He 
witnessed and played a vital role in Mobile for many years, helping 
countless individuals, bankers, builders, realtors, friends and 
associates along the way.
  On behalf of the people of South Alabama, I extend my condolences to 
his wife, Patricia; their two sons, BJ and Jimmy; their four daughters, 
Tricia, Nancy, Victoria and Ashley; nineteen grandchildren and their 
entire family. You are all in our thoughts and prayers.

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