Zachary Wood Lyon Jr.

Zachary “Zack” Wood Lyon Jr, 24 of Apex, unexpectedly passed away on June 25, 2022. He was active-duty military, a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force stationed at Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City. Being with Zack during his last days brought us some peace during an unimaginable situation. They were the most difficult days any of us have ever lived and our family is certainly more at peace knowing Zack was not alone and I think the others who were there could not have imagined being anywhere else other than by his side. One of the most incredible outcomes from his tragic death is that Zack was an organ donor and gave the ultimate gift of life and sight to several others through organ donation.

Zachary was born November 14, 1997, in Raleigh, NC to parents, Zachary W. Lyon, Sr and Courtney Chavez (nee: Stevenson). Zack was the second youngest of six siblings, having three brothers and two sisters. At age two, the family moved to Lenoir, NC where Zack experienced small-town, rural living in a log ‘cabin’ on top of a mountain, on 70 acres, surrounded by wildlife, endless trails, chickens, horses, fox, deer, turkey, coyotes, no TV, lots of library visits, backyard campfires, bike riding, trail riding, target shooting, lots of tinkering, bug bites, bee stings, scraped knees and elbows, frog catching, and snipe hunting. The desire for broader educational opportunities brought the family back to Raleigh in June 2012 where Zack was a 2016 graduate at Needham B. Broughton High School. All four years, Zack participated in the AF Junior Reserve Officer’s Training Corps, earning rank of Master Sergeant. While in high school, Zack worked as a pharmacy tech at Hayes Barton Pharmacy in Five Points in Raleigh, just a few blocks from the house where he was born.

A daredevil by age 5, riding his XR50 in the fields before graduating to bigger bikes, Zack was much like his father when it came to motorcycles, bikes, and the thrill of riding. It was exhilarating to watch him ride. There was a vine rope swing down by the creek, a great place to intentionally get wet and muddy, camping in the back yard on top of the trampoline, playing in the full rain barrels, swimming in the horse water trough, learning to mow the lawn, the rite of passage learning to build a tree house, basically growing up country, the best life beginnings ever. Although he tried to avoid snakes, he was always excited to show me turtles, toads, and lizards he’d catch around the yard. When he was three, he was given an all-black cat who he promptly named Snowball. The two of them truly grew up together over the next 15 years. As a child, Zack was polite, respectful, kind, talkative, loved animals, and was enthusiastic about life, learning, and always sought out adventures. He carried these traits into adulthood.

His dad gives a lot of credit to Gramps for helping make Zack the man he grew to become. I must admit, my dad’s influence was impactful. The two had many great adventures together, telling jokes, camping, road trips across the country on adventures to see family and friends. Zack grew up attending church and developed a love of God that stayed with him throughout basic training. He was a camp counselor, mentoring to a younger generation, bringing his generous and loving character to demonstrate God’s love to others. Being awesome came naturally to Zack, although I like to think that all his family contributed to his character and demonstrated strong family values and admirable work ethic. He was an amazing young man, loved by many, and liked by all.

After high school graduation, he enlisted in the Air Force in February 2017 where he was an honor graduate in BMT at Lackland AFB. After tech school, he was stationed at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, OK with the 552d. While there, Zack worked as an Aerospace Maintenance Technician, Aerospace Maintenance Supervisor, Aircraft Maintenance Unit Training Monitor, and a crew chief. In December 2021, I proudly watched Zack’s live stream leadership graduation from 1,200 miles away, a moment when he was going to finally sew on his new stripes as S.Sgt. after having been promoted several months prior. In May of 2022, Zack transferred into a new role as Unit Deployment Manager with the 552d assisting airmen preparing to deploy. This was a welcome change from the triple-digits summer temperatures on the flight line into an airconditioned office environment, a place where Zack’s sense of humor and attention to detail could be expressed and bestowed on all around him.

His plans after the military included attending college to become a pharmacist, much impressed by his experience working at Hayes Barton Pharmacy during high school. Zack’s plans were noble and he would have had his huge family and numerous friends cheering for his success. He was that way about all his interests and didn’t shy away from any challenge which added to many proud moments witnessing his accomplishments over the years.

My son was known for being kind, generous, helpful, and incredibly funny. His brother Brandon shared a story about Zack pranking the Marines by chaining up a giant crayon filled with cement outside their dorm. Did it really happen? Who knows? I know for sure Zack loved to liven up the workday. While touring his office a couple of months ago, I saw there still hangs on the ceiling, a small, rubber, slingshot chicken, one of many that he would use to ambush others in the office. I was told he had impeccable aim. After days of searching for a chirping cricket, the noise maker he had hidden was discovered affixed to the underside of a desk drawer and was promptly smashed. It’s a good thing Zack knew his limits with his superiors…or did he?

Zack valued family time, called home often, and included family in his weekends and evenings through almost daily FaceTime calls. He thrived from contact with his family and always found time to connect. In 2019, I’d planned a trip to Clarksville, TN to see Jared, an older brother who was stationed at Ft. Campbell at that time. As an added surprise, I brought the youngest brother, Brody with me. I didn’t tell Jared he was coming. I didn’t tell anyone he was coming. As we stepped out of the Nashville airport, Brody says, “Hey, that guy over there looks just like Zack.” Once it registered what he’d said and my eyes found the target, it was indeed Zack! He had driven from Oklahoma to Clarksville, TN to surprise me on my trip to Clarksville to see Jared and his family. Jared and Zack had kept it a secret from me, not even Brody knew about it. I had surprised everyone by bringing Brody along and Zack surprised us! It was an awesome dual surprise and a weekend filled with loving family time!

Last January, Zack deployed, his first deployment. He was slated for the big “D” a few years ago, but ended up with an emergency appendectomy instead, so he couldn’t go. When he finally did get deployed, the details were mysterious, all for safety reasons, to protect our servicemembers. It’s no secret now, he went to the UAE where he worked nights in the desert heat and formed strong and lasting friendships. Thanks to the Facebook video call feature, I was able to see and talk to Zack several times a week, usually while he was in the gym working out, always the master multitasker. After spending the first several months of 2021 on the other side of the world, having almost daily FaceBook video calls, 8 care packages and about one hundred cards and letters later, he headed back stateside. Zack was planning a trip back to NC to see all his family after his deployment, but tossed out a suggestion of taking his brother, Brody, on a cross country trip, from NC to California, two weeks with his little bro. “Of course, yes, absolutely, I can see you another time,” I said. So off they went on a trip I would describe as life changing, not just memorable, for these two brothers (actually 3 brothers since they met up with Jared in California). The Grand Canyon was hot in May, the barf kind of hot, and many days were filled with seemingly non-stop driving. There was one night of sleeping in the trunk because all the hotels were booked, but the destinations to National Parks, Las Vegas, Big Sur, visiting family and friends, growing that brotherly bond, that is what Zack wanted and I’d like to think that is exactly what he got.

His sister, Crystal, says Zack was the glue that held us together. I think he made it his mission to make sure we all stayed in touch. Most would say that he had a contagious personality. One friend phrased his friendship this way, “He was one of those friends you wish you had a dozen of, but there’s only one Zack! He had a positive impact on everyone he ever met without any shadow of a doubt.” (Thanks Matt!) Another beautiful tribute to Zack comes from his roommate Keisha, who he met on deployment, “Never have I platonically loved another human as much as I’ve loved him. He was the friend version of a soulmate and other half…I love you. You aren’t gone, you’re here with me, in my heart, always.” From the moment Zack learned to talk, he never stopped. When little, his nickname was motormouth. He’d talk to anyone, no stranger danger for this kid. His friend Chris states, “Lyon was not afraid to speak his mind, he was not afraid to talk to any person, regardless of rank. He would talk to higher ups as if they were one of his close friends.” T.Sgt. Messano shared that “My desk was next to Zack’s and I was on leave when Zack joined the UDM team. When I got back, the first thing I noticed was that he talked a lot! Another thing I noticed about Zack were his constant small acts of kindness…but I will always remember his cheerfulness, desire to work hard, and help others around him.” Similar stories were shared with us by dozens of other airmen and friends.

Zack was a dog daddy to Sully, his adopted Aussie and his best buddy, his “puppers” he would say. Not long after he adopted Sully, he made me promise that if anything ever happened to him, Sully would come live with me and Zack’s childhood dog, Amee. For Amee, our 10-year-old American dingo, having a young, new dog in the house seems to have perked up and erased some of those senior dog years that had made her kind of lazy and a little pudgy, whereas I feel like I just had a new baby at age 56 (Zack would kindly remind me I am only 29, again). Sully thinks he is a lap dog, a 54-pound lap dog. Zack, you did good spoiling him and teaching him many tricks and how to mostly be obedient…mostly. Sully is a constant reminder of Zack’s amazing ability to love others and live vibrantly, even if a little (or a lot) on the wild side.

Zack loved playing video games and through the years met numerous other gamers through online play. Many of these connections grew into friendships and often he would travel to other states to meet up with others for social time. Not being a gamer, I didn’t quite understand how unique these friendships are and how close the gaming community truly becomes through online play. I also didn’t understand the crazy names gamers use. Zack was SqueakySquirts in one game. From the condolence messages shared by his gaming friends, Squirts was truly a great guy and is already missed, “Rest in peace squirts you were an incredible hunter,” “We met in hunt, he was always a good teammate,” “SQUIRTS COME BACK TO US,” “He was a fantastic gaming friend. He would always be generous and helpful and I couldn’t ask for a better gamer.” One of Zack’s gaming friends, Matt, drove from Texas as soon as he heard the tragic news about Zack, and stayed with him at the hospital, a testimony to how deeply friendships develop through gaming as well as the impact Zack had on others.

He is preceded in death by his uncle, Donald Fish, cousin Brandon Floyd, and grandmother Sarah Shepherd Lyon.

Zack is lovingly remembered by his mother, Courtney Chavez and stepfather Ric of Apex, NC, father, Zack Lyon, Sr and stepmother Melanie Lyon of Lewisville, NC, his sisters Crystal Argila (Jaime) of Virginia Beach, VA, Caitlin Chisholm of Durham, stepsister Stephanie Nadeau (Laurence) of Wilmington, NC and brothers Brandon Chisholm (Ember) of Raleigh, Jared Chisholm (Caitlin) of El Paso, TX, and Brody Lyon of Apex, maternal grandparents Ted “Gramps” and Rena “Grandma” Stevenson of Raleigh, paternal grandfather Edwin “Papa” Lyon (Kitty) of Greensboro, NC, uncles and aunts Ed Lyon (Tina) of Sparta, NC, Christine Langdon (Todd) of Garner, NC, Carla Fish (Rich) of Philadelphia, PA, cousins Nate Lyon and Abbie Lyon of Wake Forest, Tori Langdon and Trace Langdon of Garner, NC, Nikki Luckett (Graham) of Pikeville, NC, nephews Preston Argila, Andrew Argila, Alex Argila, Jaime Argila of Virginia Beach, VA, and Speed Chisholm of El Paso, TX and his nieces Gwyneth Argila of Rexburg, Idaho, Mackenzie Argila of Virginia Beach, VA and Raleigh Chisholm of El Paso, TX. Zack was eagerly looking forward to the arrival of his newest nephew or niece due in January 2023 to his brother Brandon and Ember. Zack is also survived by many extended family, second cousins, great aunts and great uncles and his incredible Air Force Family at Tinker AFB, the hundreds of men and women who served alongside him and whose death has left a void. The Air Force truly was a family to Zack when his other family was so far away.

A graveside memorial service with Military Honors will be held at the beautiful Historic Oakwood Cemetery, 701 Oakwood Ave, Raleigh, NC 27601 on October 15, 2022, at 2:00pm. We selected this location for its unique beauty, architecture, and history, the intimate and well-designed veterans’ sections on the grounds, including beehives and birdhouses, and for the ability to honor Zack’s life and service to his country with a beautifully engraved marble headstone. Please join us as we celebrate Zack’s military service and his incredible life.

Please remember to visit Zack’s tribute page https://noregretslovebigly.com/

In lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions may be donated to Wake County Animal Center https://www.thepayplace.com/ncosc/wcanimalcenter/donations/billpreview.aspx or 820 Beacon Lake Drive, Raleigh, NC 27610 and Wounded Warrior Project https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/default.aspx?tsid=10043&ovr_acv_id=5246 to honor his belief in supporting shelter animals awaiting forever homes and much needed ongoing support for injured servicemembers.