Anita Skeen Lyons

Mrs. Anita Skeen Lyons of Linden, departed this life on Sunday, January 26, 2020 at the Womack Army Hospital in Fort Bragg, North Carolina being 81 years of age. She was born in Jackson County, West Virginia on July 10, 1938 to the late Donald Avon Skeen and Glada Carpenter Skeen Horn. In addition to her parents, Mrs. Lyons was preceded in death by the following members of her family: One son: Donald Nelson Lyons and one brother: Larry Avon Skeen.

Anita had been a homemaker; she made her home one that was filled with love and protection for those that called her momma. She was a soft but steady hand to the military man she fell in love with as only a young girl in college; who she would go on to call her husband, Mr. Robert Nelson Lyons. Anita and Robert enjoyed 62 wonderful years of marriage together and to this union four children were born. When asking her children to describe the character of their mother they responded, “She was momma. She was our shield.” Anita had not only been a stay at home mother and wife but she had also been a hard worker. She grew large fruitful gardens that she would harvest and take the food she had grown with her own hands and can and put away so that she could feed her family all year long. There was nothing that prided Anita more than being a wife and mother; she loved it and cherished every second she had with her family. She was the voice of reason, the secret keeper, the friend who was always there; from shopping trips, to getting rid of pesky boys in her daughter’s teenage years. Anita could often be found curled up with a good book; a murder mystery to be specific or flipping between HGTV and Food Network on the television. Although, her family would argue that she didn’t need any of the tips the chefs had to offer as she had been a phenomenal cook! It would be very hard to pick between her world famous fudge or her chicken and dumplings as to what her best dish was. When Mrs. Anita knew that her time to enter into rest was drawing near, she made her children promise that even she was gone that they would always come together as a family and share a meal and embrace one another. Selfless and full of love for those so dear to her even in her last days; Anita was the epitome of what a wife, mother and grandmother should be.

Left behind to cherish her legacy are the following members of her family: Her husband of 62 years: Robert Nelson Lyons of Linden; Son: Mark Alan Lyons of Angier; Daughters: Melanie Lyons of Dunn and Jennifer Lyons of Angier; One grandson: Christopher Nelson Johnson and wife Courtney of Coats; Sister: Martha Louree Hanna of Parkersburg, West Virginia; Brother: Lanny Otwell Horn and wife Darlene of Fayetteville; and six grand dogs.

You are cordially invited to a time of visitation with the family of Mrs. Anita Skeen Lyons on Thursday, January 30, 2020 from 6:00 PM until 9:00 PM at the Cromartie-Miller Funeral Home in Dunn. A funeral service will be conducted on Sunday, February 2, 2020 at Waybright Funeral Home in Ripley, West Virginia at 2:00 PM with visistaion one hour prior to the funeral service. She will be laid to rest in the Goshen Cemetery in Kentuck, West Virginia.

Cromartie-Miller Funeral home has been entrusted with all local arrangements. Online Condolences may be expressed at www.cromartiemiller.com.