KIAMA recently farewelled one of its real characters, Ron Lyons, who died aged 82.
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Mr Lyons was born in Inverell on August 18, 1931, to Harold and Charlotte Mary Lyons and moved to Kiama in 1938 at the age of seven when his father took up the position of town clerk.
After attending school in Kiama he began work in the Rural Bank in Sydney and transferred six months later to the Wollongong branch when it opened.
Four years later, at the age of 20, he was transferred to the Broken Hill branch, before he was transferred to the bank in Dareton where he met June Dowley.
He would later say he fell in love with June the first time he saw her.
The couple corresponded by letter when he was transferred to Nowra with the bank, where he was offered a position as manager with Nowra General Agency Transport Company.
During his time with the company it was built up from three tip trucks to about 40 employees and 15 vehicles.
He left five years later.
The couple were married in 1958 in Mildura while he was still employed with the transport company.
They made a home in Bomaderry overlooking the golf links and the Shoalhaven River and the first of their four daughters, Elizabeth, was born in 1960, before moving back to Dareton where Virginia, Bronwyn and Jennifer were born at Mildura hospital.
The family had always planned to move to Kiama when the girls were ready for high school, so in mid-1972 Mr Lyons came to Kiama to find work, while Mrs Lyons and the girls followed at the end of the year.
It was then that Mr Lyons's career in real estate began and after selling something in the first week and then the second week, he set himself a goal of selling something every second day.
He rose to his own challenge and bought half of the real estate business, and later bought the other half.
In 1983 the couple decided to sell the business and start enjoying retirement and this was to be the start of travel to many destinations.
Mr Lyons was well-known in Kiama for his sharp wit and warm personality and his incredible knowledge of current and past businesses, often answering calls from local media on the town's history and he was always very giving of his time.
