Julienne Stewart Lyons

Julienne Stewart Lyons was born September 14, 1953 in Armidale Australia. She grew up with her mother Verrell and brothers John and Stephen. All of the family were excellent equestrians, and she had a love and passion for horses and riding. She went to the New England Girls School where her mother taught, which was not always the most comfortable situation for her. She remained “quietly defiant” to most forms of guidance while in school, a trait she was able to carry through her entire life.

After graduating high school, Julie left Armidale and enrolled in the physiotherapy (physical therapy) program at the University of Sydney. She thrived in the program and, after graduation, worked in a Sydney hospital helping burn victims and many others. During this period, she took every opportunity to build her education and skills by enrolling in every postgraduate course she could get her hands on.

After several years in Sydney, circumstances brought Julie back to Armidale where she lived with her mother and worked at the Armidale Hospital. During that period, she met her husband Robert Myers who was attending the University of New England studying agricultural economics. In 1982, the two of them moved to the USA for Robert to undertake his Ph.D. in agricultural economics at the University of Minnesota. Julie loved to tell anyone that would listen that she “put Robert through graduate school” which was hard to deny since up until that point Robert had yet to achieve the thrill of full time employment. Julie thrived in Minneapolis-St. Paul and all of her hard work and training landed her a job with a private practice owned by the trainer for the Minnesota Vikings. She worked with many members of the Vikings team and really enjoyed inflicting her treatments on them and helping them get back on the field.

Nineteen eighty-six was a year of many changes for Julie. Robert graduated and was finally offered his first full-time job at Michigan State University. Their first daughter Emily was born just before they left Minneapolis-St. Paul so Julie had to adjust to living in East Lansing, not working, and having a new baby all at the same time. Emily had many health problems and was later diagnosed with myotonic muscular dystrophy. This was a really tough and scary time for Julie but she worked tirelessly to take care of Emily and give her every opportunity to grow and develop. Eventually, Emily’s health stabilized and the first thing Julie did was go back to work. She got a job working in, and eventually managing, a practice using innovative unweighting techniques in physical therapy treatments. She loved her work, loved helping people, and loved that she was contributing financially to her family. At the same time, she was always a great mother to Emily and met every challenge that came along with her.

By 1990, Emily had still not been diagnosed and Julie and Robert’s second daughter Jaqueline was born. Julie took some time off work but returned as soon as Jaqueline was old enough. As the girls grew up this was a very happy time for Julie. She loved her work and was doing well, Emily’s health was relatively stable, and Jacqueline was a great blessing. Julie got Jacqui into riding and took her to equestrian events most weekends during the season. Not surprisingly, this became Jacqui’s passion as well and they spent many hours together at events and shows. Jacqui was an excellent rider and her mother was so proud of her. The family also got into boating during this period and spent many happy days and weekends together on Lake Michigan.

Julie always had a love of orchestra, ballet, and theater. She was able to instill that same passion for the arts in her daughters, and eventually even in a somewhat reluctant husband. As well as supporting local events in Lansing, the family took many trips to New York to take in Broadway shows, and Julie took annual pilgrimages to the Stratford Festival in Ontario, which Julie loved because she would leave Robert at home for those trips.

Julie was proud to become U.S. citizen but never lost her love for her home country of Australia. The family made many trips back to Australia and Julie loved to spend time with family and renew friendships and experiences. Upon arrival, Julie always remarked how special Australia was and how much she had missed it. The family has many fond memories of these trips, which Julie enjoyed so much.

After Julie and Emily were diagnosed with myotonic muscular dystrophy, a genetic muscle wasting disease, both of them went through periods of decline, stability, but then further decline. Julie had to retire from work early because her strength loss would not allow her to work safely any longer. Emily eventually required a wheelchair. These were tough times for Julie because her work meant a lot to her but she never complained and took each new challenge in stride. She also never gave up doing everything she could for her family, even as her mobility declined further.

In 2017, Julie was blessed with her first grandson. She loved Will and Will loved “Grammy”. Those around her could tell how frustrated Julie was not to be able to hold Will more and do more things with him. But by this time her mobility and strength were declining significantly.

Emily passed away December 12, 2020 after some very tough times. That broke Julie’s heart and she began to decline more rapidly. She passed away herself in the early morning of March 4, 2021. She was at home where she wanted to be and her suffering is now over. Julie was a great partner, a wonderful mother, and a fierce defender of her family, of which she was extremely proud. She is survived by her husband Robert, daughter Jacqueline, grandson Will, and brother John. All of them will miss her dearly.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.greastlansing.com for the Lyons family.