Funeral services will be held on Friday for Tom Lyon, who became known as one of the top leaders in Wisconsin's animal genetics industry. He passed away on March 8 at the age of 80 after battling cancer.
Lyon began his career in the artificial insemination sector in 1967 as public relations manager for the Midwest Breeders Cooperative in Shawano. When Midwest merged with Minnesota Valley Breeders in 1985 to form 21st Century Genetics, he was promoted as general manager of the new cooperative. He would eventually become CEO in 1993 when the company was renamed as Cooperative Resources International upon the merger of 21st Century Genetics and the Wisconsin Dairy Herd Improvement Cooperative. He retired from the company in 2002.
He was one of the original board members of the Wisconsin Livestock Identification Consortium, served on former Agriculture Secretary Rod Nilsestuen's Ag Economics Panel in 2004, and co-chaired the Wisconsin Food, Land and Water Project. In addition to his agricultural endeavors, he served on the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents from 1986-1993, including a term as president from 1990-1992.
Throughout his career, he was awarded with the National Dairy Shrine's Guest of Honor; and was inducted into the National Cooperative Business Hall of Fame and the Wisconsin Business Hall of Fame.
Tom and his wife Barbara celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary in June 2020.
A private mass will be held on March 12 at St. Pius X Church in Cambridge. There will also be a prayer service on March 13 at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Tama, Iowa, followed by burial at the parish cemetery. A celebration of life will be held in the Madison area at a later date.
Categories: Wisconsin, Business