Fred Lyon, a native of Durham, North Carolina, is the son of Mr. and Mrs. William C. Lyon. He attended Duke University and graduated from the University of Virginia, where he was a member of Kappa Alpha and Alpha Kappa Psi fraternity.
Mr. Lyon began his association with the Opp-Micolas Mills in 1934 and became President in 1951, serving until he resigned in 1967. He was also President of Swift Manufacturing Company in Columbus, Georgia. He was also Vice President at Glen Alden Corporation in New York. He served as President fir Alabama Textile Manufacturers Association; Director and Vice President for Associated Industries of Alabama; Director for American Textile Manufacturers Institute, Director of the Cotton Textile Institute, Board member of Alabama Electric Cooperative; and Director of the First National Bank of Opp.
He served as a member of the Board of Trustees and as a Chairman for the Board of Stewards at First Methodist Church in Opp. He was one of the original founders of Mizell Memorial Hospital and a member of the Hospital Board since its beginning. He served as President from 1953 to 1967. He was the Charter President of Opp Rotary Club, and a member of the Opp City Board of Education for 18 years, serving as a chairman for 11 years.
Mr. Lyon is married to the former Miss Phyllis Sheeran of Garden City in Long Island, New York. He is the father of three children. Catherine Lucille Branham, Linda Mizell McAdams, and Mary Sheeran Lyon.
Mr. Lyon’s record of public service demonstrates his quest for the fully lived life and his realization that happiness and success lie within expanding oneself for good purposes. It has been said of him that fully exemplifies the motto, “Service above self.” He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1978.
