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A graduate of the former San Jacinto High School in Houston, later absorbed by the Houston Community College System, Lyon also attended [[Rice University]] and the University of Houston.  He served in the [[United States Marine Corps]]. In 1962, the Junior Chamber of Commerce named Lyon among five "Outstanding Young Texans."  In his real estate career, Lyon developed a number of Houston-area subdivisions, such as Spring Branch, Briarmeadow, Farnham Park, Tanglewilde, and Briarbend. In [[Galveston]], he built the USS Flagship Hotel. He constructed the River Oaks Bank and Trust Company building and The Huntingdon, a 34-story Houston [[skyscraper]] completed in 1984.<ref name=obit/>   

A graduate of the former San Jacinto High School in Houston, later absorbed by the Houston Community College System, Lyon also attended [[Rice University]] and the University of Houston.  He served in the [[United States Marine Corps]]. In 1962, the Junior Chamber of Commerce named Lyon among five "Outstanding Young Texans."  In his real estate career, Lyon developed a number of Houston-area subdivisions, such as Spring Branch, Briarmeadow, Farnham Park, Tanglewilde, and Briarbend. In [[Galveston]], he built the USS Flagship Hotel. He constructed the River Oaks Bank and Trust Company building and The Huntingdon, a 34-story Houston [[skyscraper]] completed in 1984.<ref name=obit/>   

In 1969, the Harris County GOP designated Lyon as its "Mr. Republican."<ref name=obit/> In 1972, Lyon supported [[Conservative]] gubernatorial candidate [[Henry C. Grover]], then a state senator from Houston. Another group of Republicans, led by [[Rudy Juedeman]], a former member of the Montana House of Representatives who in his later years became an oilman in [[Odessa, Texas|Odessa]], tried without success to draft [[Jim Reese]], then the [[mayor]] of Odessa, for the nomination, but Lyon held firm in his original commitment to support Grover.<ref>Billy Hathorn, "Mayor Jim Reese of Odessa and the Republican Party in the Permian Basin", ''The West Texas Historical Association Year Book'', Vol. LXXXVII (October 2011), pp. 143-144</ref> Thereafter, Grover defeated the Houston businessman Albert Bel Fay in a runoff election for the party nomination, but he then lost in the [[general election]] to the [[Democrat]] [[Dolph Briscoe]] of Uvalde, Texas. Lyon was a delegate committed to [[Ronald W. Reagan]] at both the 1976 and the 1980 [[Republican National Convention]]s, which met in [[Kansas City]], [[Missouri]], and [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]], respectively. From 1968 to 1973, Lyon headed the finance committee of the Harris County Republican Party.<ref name=obit/>   

In 1969, the Harris County GOP designated Lyon as its "Mr. Republican." Lyon was a delegate committed to [[Ronald W. Reagan]] at both the 1976 and the 1980 [[Republican National Convention]]s, which met in [[Kansas City]], [[Missouri]], and [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]], respectively. From 1968 to 1973, he headed the finance committee of the Harris County Republican Party.<ref name=obit/>   

   

   

Lyon was a member of the Petroleum Club, the Houston Club, the University Club, and the River Oaks Country Club. He founded the James E. Lyon Medical Research Foundation, which underwrites cancer research. He was also a board member of St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation, a member of the Rice University Associates, and a member of the president's council of Houston Baptist University.<ref name=obit/>

Lyon was a member of the Petroleum Club, the Houston Club, the University Club, and the River Oaks Country Club. He founded the James E. Lyon Medical Research Foundation, which underwrites cancer research. He was also a board member of St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation, a member of the Rice University Associates, and a member of the president's council of Houston Baptist University.<ref name=obit/>