Jeffrey Lyons, one of Toronto city hall’s most sought-after lobbyists, also made a name for himself as a successful lawyer and a supporter of charitable causes, but at his July 28 memorial service, his family focused their praise on his infectiously positive spirit and zest for life. 

Hundreds of family and friends packed Benjamin’s Park Memorial Chapel to pay respects to Lyons, who died July 26 after collapsing during a run. He was 75.

“My father’s passing was very fitting to his character: totally unexpected, completely impactful and of course, leaving you wanting so much more,” said his son, Stewart Lyons.

When his daughter, Heather, took to the podium she jokingly chastised her father.

“It’s just like you to go this way. An old geezer like yourself should not have been running in that heat! At least you went out with gusto, as you would say,” she said.

Lyons, owner of the Lyons Group government lobbying firm, held a number of high-profile posts over the course of his career, including chair of the Toronto Transit Commission and vice-chair of the Toronto Police Services Board, and served on the boards of Ontario Place, the Greater Toronto Airport Authority and Via Rail.

However, along with his many accomplishments, Lyons was implicated in the MFP computer leasing scandal in the late 1990s at Toronto City Hall, which resulted in an inquiry and damaged his reputation. Although no charges were laid, the scandal is widely thought to have helped David Miller win the Toronto mayoralty in the 2003 municipal election. 

Lyons’ wife and children, each of whom honoured their father with touching and sometimes humorous eulogies, were very proud of him.

His widow, Sandy, who was described by her daughter, Heather, as the love of Lyons’ life, spoke directly to her husband.

“You were so much fun to be with. You were creative, interesting, you loved people. When you put your mind to something, nothing could stop you. I was always amazed at how much good you accomplished in your life – in your law career, in your charity work, in your self-discipline as an athlete, in your generosity to family and friends, in your sentimental nature, in your intense interest in politics and concern for world affairs and your concern for the welfare of Israel.” 

Reading a eulogy on behalf of his sister, Merrill Brill, who lives in New York and couldn’t fly in for the funeral because she was “minutes, hours away from giving birth,” Lyons’ son Stewart said, “I want to tell you that I’m so proud of the man you were – established and successful in your career, you were clearly born to do the job you did.”

She said he was special in so many ways, but his sense of humour stood out.

“After you visited a Baptist church in Washington D.C., you became enamoured with how each man that walked in was addressed as ‘brother’ and that soon became your shtick. You began addressing everyone you met as ‘brother.’ In return, that is how you were known to all of us,” Stewart said on behalf of his sister, who watched the service from New York on a mobile device.

Outlining some of her father’s accomplishments, including his campaign for better wages for waiters and his successful class-action lawsuit against Ford Motor Co. that resulted in a five-year anti-rust guarantee for consumers, Heather said her father inspired her.

“I was so respectful of your time as a bencher of the Law Society and would be so proud when you’d be featured in the press, or when I’d see ads for your cable show Transit Talks on the bus coming home from school when you were chairman of the TTC.”

Professional accomplishments aside, Lyons had a passion for life.

“You taught me that life requires focus and determination, but life can also be a lot of fun, and life is for the living,” Heather said.

Stewart added that one of the things he admired most about his father was that he was “passionately positive. He was always optimistic, always a glass-half-full kind of guy.”

He added: “Here are some things he was passionately positive about in no particular order: Italian food, federal politics, provincial politics, municipal politics, fun people, newspapers, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the Toronto Blue Jays, his kids and grandkids… basically any wine from any region around the world, and the list goes on and on. In contrast, here is a list of some of the things he didn’t like: the lowly brussels sprout. That is all.”