Kent Lyons, a resident of Pleasanton, Texas, passed away on August 2, 2011, in San Antonio.

Kent was born on April 14, 1939, in Buffalo, South Dakota, to Francis and Grace Lyons. Kent attended high school in Buffalo and shortly after graduation, he joined the Marine Corp. In the Marine Corp, he was stationed in Okinawa, Japan during Vietnam. He worked as an airplane mechanic servicing and repairing planes as they came in from Vietnam. After he was discharged from the Marine Corp, he moved to Baker, Montana, where he went to work as a roughneck in the oil business. Baker is where he met his love of 47 years, Marjorie Celander. They were married 8 months later on September 22, 1964, in Rapid City, SD. They lived together in Baker where they had their first two sons, Troy Dennis Lyons in 1965 and Kirby Dean Lyons in 1968. Shortly after Kirby was born, they moved to Long Beach, California, so that Kent could work off shore on the rigs.

In 1969, Troy was diagnosed with leukemia. Not having medical insurance in the oil business, Kent took a job hauling cars for Merlin Olsen so he could join the truck drivers union for insurance benefits. Troy passed away in 1971, and in 1977 they moved to Belle Fourche, South Dakota, to the ranch that Kent had bought from his father in 1972. In Belle Fourche, Kent continued driving truck, hauling logs and bentonite. In 1978, their son, Kory Lee Lyons was born in Belle Fourche. In 1980, the sawmill in Spearfish, SD, burned down and Kent took a job with Signal Oilfield Service in Riverton, Wyoming. He worked for Signal for many years that took his family from Riverton to Casper, WY, to Gillette, WY. In Gillette, he left Signal and went to work for Swift Energy Company out of Houston, Texas. He maintained all the oil wells that Swift Energy had purchased in Wyoming till they asked him to move to Texas in 1989. Kent and his family moved to Pleasanton Texas in 1989 to take over a field of oil wells Swift had purchased in Tilden, Texas. He worked for Swift Energy until 1995 when he went to work for Pool Intadrill in Quito, Ecuador. He worked for Pool in Ecuador until 2001. During that time he was a part of many adventures in South America from kidnappings, Native uprisings, robberies and even came down with a case of dysentery.

After 9/11 he decided to go out on his own as an independent consultant in the United States. He worked for many different oil companies in South Texas, Louisiana and North Dakota. He continued his consulting until 2011.

Besides working, Kent was an avid fisherman and loved to hunt almost anything including elk, deer, birds, and more. Kent lived an adventurous life that took him all over the world. He grew up on a large ranch in South Dakota in a time before electricity and running water where he and his other siblings would work, ride horses, shoot guns and otherwise live a western life style.

All through his work, he never missed a single sporting event of his sons, a family reunion and always made sure a summer family vacation was taken. He loved and was loved by his family, had a thousand friends the world over, and never met a stranger.

Kent is survived by brother, Bruce Lyons; wife, Marjorie Lyons; sons, Kirby and Kory; and grandkids, Dustin and Trevor.

He was preceded in death by his siblings, Noreen Paulson, Ester Korenman, Dean Lyons, Lotus Kennedy, David Lyons; and son, Troy Lyons.

Committal services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 10, 2011, at the Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis with Pastor Larry Green officiating. Military honors will be provided.

Friends may gather at the Kinkade Funeral Chapel in Sturgis for a time of visitation prior to leaving for the cemetery. Following the committal services, a time of fellowship and refreshments will be served at the St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Spearfish.