Elizabeth Ann Lyons

With heavy hearts but profound gratitude that she is no longer suffering, we announce the passing of Elizabeth (Beth) Ann Lyons, age 73, on March 21, 2025, at Jacksonville Nursing and Rehab Center. Beth was a great sister, aunt, and a best friend to many; her kindness, generosity and selflessness touched the lives of everyone who knew her.

Beth was born on July 11, 1951, in the John Hodges Drake Infirmary at Auburn University, to William H. Lyons Jr. and Mary Ella Funchess Lyons. Our grandfather was Marion Jacob Funchess, Dean of Agriculture at Auburn University; it was due to the perks of this relationship that our mother desired to return to Auburn University to give birth.

Beth moved with her family from Marietta, GA to Jacksonville, FL at the age of 2, and the whole family would make Jacksonville their lifelong home. She was raised in the Methodist Church as a member of Swaim Memorial United Methodist Church. Beth attended Landon Junior High and graduated from Wolfson High School in 1969 and went to Auburn University for her degree in Education. After college, Beth spent the summer touring Europe, which, along with summer trips to Novia Scotia with her childhood best friend, fostered a life-long love of travel and art. She spent her whole career at Lake Forest Elementary on Jacksonville’s Northside; she was very passionate about her job and loved all her students. She went back to college for a master’s degree and became a Media Specialist, returning to Lake Forest as a Librarian for the rest of her career.

Beth was an avid reader and enjoyed going out to eat with friends and going to the movies. She loved to travel, and her adventures took her to many different countries. Beth often planned trips with her close teacher friends to obscure places of history, art, religion, nature, and architecture. They learned so much from her on these adventures that they wouldn’t have experienced if it weren’t for Beth’s curious spirit. She was very proud of her 1938 brick bungalow home and renovated every room with meticulous detail. We always joked that she had a “Southern Living” home, it was so beautifully decorated it could have easily graced the pages of that magazine.

She is predeceased by her parents, William H. Lyons, Jr. and Mary Ella Funchess Lyons, and her older sister, Barbara Lyons Jansen. Beth is survived by her younger sister, Rebecca Lyons Moseley (John), her nieces, Kristin Jansen Wiley (Trey) and Erin Moseley Crilly (Ryan), her nephews, Clifton Jansen (Amanda) and Tanner Moseley, her great nieces, Hayden Jansen, Brooklyn Wiley and Jansen Wiley, and great nephew, Nathan Jansen.

The family would like to extend their gratitude to all the staff at Jacksonville Nursing and Rehab Center, for their excellent care and patience during Beth’s residency there. We are also grateful to Community Hospice for their end-of-life care and support during these last 6 months as Beth’s health continued to decline from kidney failure and other associated issues.

It was Beth’s wishes that no memorial service or celebration of life be held. If you would like to honor her in some way, please consider a memorial donation to The Foundation of Community Hospice & Palliative Care, 4266 Sunbeam Rd., Jacksonville, FL 32257, or give online at thefoundationcares.org/give. Your gift changes the lives of children and adults living with life-limiting and life-ending illnesses.