Sharon M. (Long) Lyst

Sharon Melanie Lyst, 87, of Indianapolis, died Monday, September 20, 2021, at St. Vincent Hospital following a brief illness. Since 2016 she resided in Carmel, Indiana, at The Barrington of Carmel. Sharon was born in Logansport, Indiana on June 30, 1934, to Lloyd Otto “Trail” Long and Margaret Louise Long. She married John “Jerry” Lyst on December 29, 1956. Jerry Lyst was the former editorial page editor of The Indianapolis Star and died June 20, 2009. They were married 53 years. Sharon was a 1952 graduate of Monticello High School. She attended Purdue University from 1952-1954. She then transferred to Indiana University where she met Jerry, and graduated from The Indiana School of Journalism in 1956. She worked as a summer reporter for The Monticello Herald-Journal while in High School and college. After college she was a reporter for The Lafayette Journal-Courier in Lafayette, Indiana. As Jerry was assigned to Army Boot Camp in Texas and then deployed to Stuttgart, Germany, Sharon spent her first two years of marriage abroad and gave birth to their oldest daughter while in Germany. Upon returning to the United States in 1958, Sharon and Jerry settled in Indianapolis and had three more daughters. Sharon was an active volunteer in Washington Township Schools and a longtime member of Northminster Presbyterian Church. She was a proud member of the local chapter of The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). She worked as a preschool teacher at Second Presbyterian Church and Broad Ripple Methodist Church and also was the Assistant Director of Mother’s Day Out at Epworth Methodist Church for several years. She loved working with young children and made lifelong friends with her fellow staff members. Sharon was an avid reader and book collector. She was a regular ribbon winner at The Indiana State Fair showcasing unique antiques she had acquired through the years. She was passionate about passenger trains, music and all the arts. She and Jerry spent many evenings attending the The Indianapolis Symphony, or ballet and traveling around the country to see many sites. She is survived by her three daughters: Shannon Lyst (Mark Hylton) of Indianapolis, Bettina Nolan (Tom) of Raleigh, NC and Ellen Eaken (Greg) of Indianapolis; and grandchildren Thomas and John Henry Nolan of Raleigh, NC and Daniel and Laura Eaken of Indianapolis whom she adored and lived for in her later years. Sharon’s brother Jerry T. Long died in 2017. A daughter Audrey Lyst died in 1984. Funeral Services will be held Saturday, October 2nd at Northminster Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis. A visitation at the church will be from 12-1:30 and service at 1:30. The church requires masks in all indoor buildings. A family burial service will follow at Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis. Memorials may be made to the Indianapolis Press Club Foundation, PO Box 40923, Indianapolis, IN 46240/ Indypressfoundation.org or to the Indianapolis Public Library Foundation, PO Box 6134, Indianapolis, IN 46206/indypl.org. Leppert Mortuary is handling the arrangements. To share a memory or condolence, please visit www.leppertmortuary.com.