General William Lyon, without question, led an achievement-filled life. Even more impressive is the fact that his many accomplishments were so wide- ranging. He made his mark as a successful businessman, a decorated member of the military, and an active philanthropist in the community.

EARLY LIFE

William Lyon was born on March 9, 1923, in Los Angeles, California. His father emigrated from Russia as a teenager, and his mother grew up on a small farm in Kentucky. Together they instilled in their son a solid work ethic and a fierce commitment to doing the right thing. Those founding principles guided his life.

The Lyon family moved several times between San Francisco and Los Angeles, but most of Bill’s studies were completed in Southern California. Bill and his brother, Leon, who was 3 years his senior, attended Page Military Academy in Hollywood as boarding students. He finished his elementary education at University School, then attended public middle school in Westwood. Bill followed Leon to Beverly Hills High School. While there, he discovered his love of airplanes and thirst for flying after paying $1 to take a ride around the Culver City airfield in a two-seater Porterfield. At 16, he got his pilot’s license, taking lessons in a 50 hp Luscombe at an airfield in Van Nuys. Bill graduated from Beverly High in 1941 after a brief period at the Menlo School in Palo Alto.

In the fall of 1941, Bill enrolled at the University of Southern California. He became a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity and joined Naval ROTC with the dream of joining the Navy as a pilot. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, Bill attempted to enlist in the Navy. He was rejected due to a deviated septum but had nasal surgery and tried again. When he failed the medical exam a second time due to his nose, he concluded “God did not want [him] to be a Navy pilot.” Determined to contribute to the war effort, Bill left USC to attend the Dallas Aviation School and College, graduating August 12, 1943, with a commercial instructor’s license. He immediately found work instructing pilots for the war, ironically training naval air cadets. 

FAMILY

William Lyon and Miriam Marquardt were married on September 14, 1946. Together they had two daughters, Mary Susan and Christine Ann. Unfortunately, Miriam passed away suddenly in January of 1970.

In August of 1971, Bill married the former Willa Dean Harwell from Haskell, Texas, adding her children Marcia and Byron Russell to the family. In September of 1973, Bill and Willa Dean welcomed their son William Harwell into their blended family. Together they have 5 children, 7 grandchildren, and 5 great-grandchildren.

MILITARY

As World War II raged on, young Lyon decided to enlist again, but this time in the Army Air Force as a ferry pilot. He was designated a flight officer on June 3, 1944. This marked the beginning of a distinguished military career of more than 35 years. During World War II, Bill flew a variety of aircraft including C-46s, C-47s, B-24s, B-25s, A-20s, T-6s and P-38s. He completed ferry and air transport assignments in the Pacific as far west as Australia, in North Africa as far east as India, and in both England and Scotland.

In 1951, then Captain Lyon left his job as a co-pilot for Frontier Airlines to volunteer for active duty in the Air Force as the Korean War was heating up. After several stateside assignments, he deployed to South Korea on March 10, 1953. There, Lyon flew 75 combat missions in C-46s and C-47s, many of which involved dropping troops and saboteurs deep behind enemy lines at low altitude in the dark of night.

General Lyon’s military contributions further extended to serving as Chief of Air Force Reserve from 1975 to 1979, where he was responsible for managing a $700,000,000 budget as well as the activities of some 53,000 Air Force reservists. He is credited as the catalyst behind bringing the Air Force Reserve up to active duty standards and for implementing the policy of Total Force.

General Lyon received numerous awards and decorations, including the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal (with three oak clusters), and the Presidential Unit Citation.

General Lyon’s military affiliations included his service as board chairman of the United States Air Force Academy Research and Development Institution, chairman (and later chairman emeritus) and director of the USAF Falcon Foundation, as well as serving as a member of the Air Force Academy Foundation.

In addition, General Lyon served as chairman of the American Air Museum in Britain and founded the Lyon Air Museum at John Wayne Airport in Orange County in 2009.

BUSINESS

After returning from Korea in 1954, William Lyon started building homes for returning military personnel and others attracted to the Golden State. During his 60-year career, spanning several entities, General Lyon has been responsible for the production of well over 100,000 residential homes. Ranked as the 18th largest homebuilder in 2019, William Lyon Homes merged with Taylor Morrison Home Corporation in early 2020, creating the nation’s fifth largest publicly traded homebuilder.

General Lyon’s business success was not limited to homebuilding. In 1985, he established a multifamily real estate company to further diversify his real estate holdings which led to the acquisition, development, and management of over 10,000 apartment units. In 1981, he and a partner purchased AirCal, a regional air carrier based in Newport Beach, California. General Lyon served as their Chairman & CEO until 1987 when he merged AirCal with American Airlines. In 2003, a group of founders and investors opened Commercial Bank of California in Costa Mesa, CA. William Lyon served as a board member and founding chairman of the board.

Remarkably, General Lyon was involved in three initial public offerings spanning over three decades: AirCal Airlines in 1983, The Presley Companies in 1991, and William Lyon Homes 2013.

COMMUNITY

William Lyon and his wife, Willa Dean, have always been active supporters of community organizations. After 30 years of service, he retired as a director of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts Board, having been a former chairman. General Lyon was the founding chairman of the Orangewood Children’s Foundation and served as a chairman of the Boy Scouts of America, Orange County Council. Additionally, he served as board chairman of the Alexis de Tocqueville Society of The United Way.

General Lyon served as a lifetime trustee of the University of Southern California. Additionally, he served on the board of USC Marshall School of Business and as a member of the President’s Cabinet of Chapman University.

HONORS

Given his long history of achievement, William Lyon has deservedly received numerous honors, including: the United States Air Force Academy Distinguished Service Award (November 2005); Ernst & Young’s National Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Real Estate category, November 2005); Operation Smile’s Corporate Humanitarian Award (October 2005); USC Marshall School of Business Leadership Award (September 2005); Distinguished Public Service Award presented by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (May 2005); Chapman University’s Presidential Medal in Business and Entrepreneurship Award (2004); Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Southern California (May 2002); American Academy of Achievement’s “Golden Plate” Award (June 1990); and University of Southern California's “Asa V. Call Achievement” Award, the highest honor bestowed by the General Alumni Association (March 1990). General Lyon was inducted into the California Building Industry’s Hall of Fame in June of 1985.