In Memoriam: Fair Haven- and Rumson-Raised RFH ’78 Grad, Pattie Leutz Lyons, 66

Fair Haven and Rumson-raised Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) Class of 1978 graduate, avid volunteer, rugby enthusiast, wife, mom and “friend to all,” Pattie Leutz Lyons, “passed from this life peacefully on June 14 at home and surrounded by the family she loved with all her being.” She was 66.

Pattie was born in Cherry Point, NC on April 3, 1960 to Charles R. and Catherine H. Leutz. When her father retired from military service, the family relocated to Fair Haven and later Rumson, where Pattie attended Holy Cross Elementary and RFH.

She obtained her bachelor’s degree from Lehigh University, and a master’s degree from Western Michigan in Blind and Low Vision Rehabilitation, the foundation for her professional career. Inspiration for a life of service to the blind came to Pattie through the example of her uncle, Carroll Ault, a man with rapidly failing vision, who was a logging high-climber for 20 years, topping 200-foot trees in the Pacific Northwest, after which he fashioned a career in blind rehabilitation.

“Pattie’s commitment to altruism was evidenced throughout her life. She donated a kidney to a man she didn’t know — the father of her grandson’s preschool teacher. After daughter Emily returned from a volunteer program in Tanzania and related the plight of so many destitute and orphaned children there, Pattie committed to sponsor the education of a young girl in a boarding school program and arranged for her husband Tom to do the same for a young boy.

“From this start, Emily formed a non-profit to extend the support to others, and by networking among friends and associates, The Nafasi Project, LLC arranged sponsors to provide futures for 33 Tanzanian children whose prospects were undeniably bleak otherwise.

“Service to others aside, Pattie enjoyed a full range of interests across a broad spectrum. She was a powerlifter early on, and played women’s rugby during the ’80s with the Monmouth Rugby Club. She remained a much-beloved member of the Monmouth Rugby family throughout her life. She enjoyed sailing and was a long time member of the Ship Ahoy Beach Club. She was also an accomplished quilter and gardener.

“We will all miss her dearly, but we celebrate her life with the unbounded positivity that she exuded throughout her time with us.

“Godspeed, Pattie.”
Loved ones of Pattie Leutz Lyons in her obituary

She is predeceased by: her parents, and a number of siblings and other kin, many of whom passed too soon.

She is survived by: her husband of 38 years, Thomas; her children Tommy, Alison, Emily, Kevin, and her step-daughter, Erin, who she loved with a passion; her brothers, Bill, James, and Mark; her sisters, Colleen and Susan; “her special loves, her radiant grandson,” Julian, and her nephew, James, “both of whom filled her heart with hope and joy.”

A memorial visitation will be held on Thursday, June 18, from 4 to 7 p.m., with a service at 6:30 at Thompson Memorial Home, 310 Broad St., Red Bank, NJ 07701. A repast will follow at the Molly Pitcher Inn, Red Bank. Interment will be private at Mount Olivet Cemetery, Middletown. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations might be made to continue the good work of the Nafasi Project at www.nafasiproject.org.

— Edited obituary prepared by family via Thompson Memorial Home