Patricia A. “Pattie” Lyons of Atlantic Highlands, beloved wife, mother, grandmother and friend to all, passed away peacefully June 14, 2026, at the age of 66. She was at home and surrounded by the family she loved with all her being.
Pattie was born April 3, 1960, in Cherry Point, North Carolina, to Charles R. and Catherine H. Leutz. When her father retired from military service, the family relocated to Fair Haven and later Rumson, where Pattie attended Holy Cross Elementary and Rumson-Fair Haven High School. She obtained her bachelor’s degree from Lehigh University and a master’s degree in blind and low vision rehabilitation from Western Michigan, the foundation for her professional career.
Inspiration for a life of service to the blind came to Pattie through the example of her uncle, Carroll Ault, a man with rapidly failing vision, who was a logging high-climber for 20 years, topping 200-foot trees in the Pacific Northwest, after which he fashioned a career in blind rehabilitation.
Pattie’s commitment to altruism was evidenced throughout her life. She donated a kidney to a man she didn’t know, the father of her grandson’s preschool teacher. After daughter Emily returned from a volunteer program in Tanzania and related the plight of so many destitute and orphaned children there, Pattie committed to sponsor the education of a young girl in a boarding school program and arranged for her husband Tom to do the same for a young boy. From this start, Emily formed a nonprofit to extend the support to others, and by networking among friends and associates, The Nafasi Project, LLC arranged sponsors to provide futures for 33 Tanzanian children whose prospects were otherwise undeniably bleak.
Service to others aside, Pattie enjoyed a broad range of interests. She was a powerlifter early on and played women’s rugby during the 1980s with the Monmouth Rugby Club. She remained a much-beloved member of the Monmouth Rugby family throughout her life.
She enjoyed sailing and was a longtime member of the Ship Ahoy Beach Club. She was also an accomplished quilter and gardener.
She is survived by her husband of 38 years, Thomas; her children, Tommy, Alison, Emily and Kevin; and her step-daughter Erin, whom she loved with a passion. She is also survived by her brothers Bill, James and Mark, and sisters Colleen and Susan.
Two of her special loves were her radiant grandson, Julian, and nephew, James, both of whom filled her heart with hope and joy.
Pattie was predeceased by her parents and a number of siblings and other kin, many of whom passed too soon. Her family will miss her dearly, but they celebrate her life with the unbounded positivity that she exuded throughout her life.
A memorial visitation will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, June 18, with a service at 6:30 p.m. at Thompson Memorial Home, 310 Broad St., Red Bank. A repast will follow at the Molly Pitcher Inn, Red Bank. Interment will be private at Mount Olivet Cemetery, Middletown.
The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to continue the good work of the Nafasi Project at nafasiproject.org.
The article originally appeared in the June 18 – 24, 2026 print edition of The Two River Times.
