Lover of Conway Twitty, Marlboro 100s, good Mexican food, potato guns, home improvement projects, silicon spray lubricant, extra batteries, and the National Rifle Association … J. Russell Lyman passed away in Evanston on Dec. 11.
Russ was born in Rawlins on Sept. 1, 1941, and he graduated high school in Basin, in 1959. He joined the Air Force in the early 1960s, and was deployed to Guam to assist with nuclear weapon assembly and transport under the Strategic Air Command. Favorite moments in his military career include meeting Major General John H. Storrie (of SR-71 Blackbird fame), and watching the landing of a Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft.
He attended the University of Wyoming and Montana State University, pursuing a degree in architectural engineering. He enjoyed exercising his mind, specifically in mechanical engineering, stock-car building and ranching. He owned a sheep ranch and construction company in Cody for many years. He also worked for the Wyoming Highway Patrol in the Rock Springs area.
A favorite story about Russ is the life-saving measures given to a 12-year-old boy struck by lightning outside the Lyman home in Cody. Russ was inside the house and heard a loud “crack.” He ran outside and found the boy unresponsive, with burns on his arms and legs.
Russ administered CPR, and he was able to restore breathing before the ambulance arrived. When Russ was denied a chance to ride in the ambulance with the youth, he took off on foot, running to the hospital a few blocks away. The boy, decades later, showed up on Russ’s doorstep with a drawing of the event, thanking Russ for his efforts.
Russ is preceded in death by his father, Eugene Stubbs Lyman; his mother, Evelyn Olsen Lyman; and his siblings, Ranae, Carolyn and Bruce.
He is survived by his brother, Roger Lyman; and his sons, Bart (Janice) Lyman of Evanston and Matt (Kristin) Lyman of Brentwood, California. He has five grandchildren: Mason, Sydney, Oliver, Alexander and Melissa.
