WILLIAM DALE “BILL” LYONS

Bill Lyons

William Dale “Bill” Lyons, 90, died May 11, 2026.

He was born Oct. 20, 1935, in Williamson County, the son of Jewel and Cecil Lyons.

Surviving are his wife, Judy Lanter Lyons; three daughters, Julie Lyons Jennings, Jill Lyons Doiron and Jennifer Fitch Lyons; one granddaughter, Jessa Poppenhager Howard; four grandsons, Will Doiron, Ben Doiron, Jackson Jennings and Max Jennings; along with the van Vuuren family from the Netherlands.

He was preceded in death by one son, Jeff Poppenhager; and one grandson, Jakob Poppenhager.

He graduated from Astoria High School and soon after was drafted into the Army. He spent two years stationed near Heidelberg, Germany. Upon returning from service he began his 42-year career at Peabody Coal Company where he was famously known as “Jelly Bread”.

A visitation was held at Heil-Schuessler Funeral Home in New Athens on Friday, May 15.

Condolences may be sent to heilschuessler.com.

Published in the Astoria South Fulton Argus on 5/20/2026