Friends of Dr. Pearse Lyons, who died March 8 of complications from heart surgery at age 73, say his legacy will live on and inspire countless people in Lexington and around the world for years to come.
Funeral masses will be March 17 in Lexington, with another service to follow in April in Dublin, Ireland. A special celebration of life will be held on May 20 at the beginning of ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference in Lexington. Public visitation in Lexington will be on March 16.
Following news of Lyons' death, messages of condolences poured in from the local community and from around the world following the announcement of Lyons’ death.
Lexington Mayor Jim Gray called him “a builder … a builder of ideas and projects and people. He was one of those rare, larger than life figures who had an influence far beyond our borders.”
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Lyons would be remembered as a businessman, philanthropist, husband and father. “In each of these he excelled,” McConnell said.
Saying he was speaking for all Kentuckians, McConnell said … “we’re glad that (Lyons) chose to build his life and his businesses here.”
Former Kentucky Gov. John Y. Brown Jr. , who knew Lyons well, said his story will inspire many.
"Pearse was a creator and a builder, probably the most incredible entrepreneur I ever had an opportunity to work with.” —John Y. Brown Jr.
“He was a role model in every respect. Pearse was a creator and a builder, probably the most incredible entrepreneur I ever had an opportunity to work with,” said Brown, an entrepreneur himself.
Brown and Lyons met shortly after the native of Ireland moved to Kentucky in the late 1970s. About the same time, Lyons launched his company, Alltech, working out of his garage with a $10,000 investment. Alltech, which made animal feeds, grew in three decades into a billion-dollar international company with more than 5,000 employees. Later, Lyons branched out into other businesses, including distilling and brewing.
Brown remembered him as an “incredibly disciplined person” who would get out of bed in the pre-dawn hours and jog for miles before starting his work day. That discipline carried over into every aspect of Lyons ‘ life, Brown said.
“He built this amazing company in an amazingly short period of time,” Brown said. “He probably did more to lift this city and this state than anyone I’ve known. And I lived here all my life.”
Bob Quick, president and CEO of Commerce Lexington, said all would miss Lyons’ “optimism, involvement in the community, and his ability to see opportunity where challenges persisted.”
Lyons’ “visionary leadership” enabled Alltech to become a “global leader in finding solutions to the world’s pressing needs,” Quick said.
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Courtesy Alltech
Dr. Pearse Lyons pictured in front of the newly opened global headquarters in Nicholasville, Kentucky, in 2004.
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Dr. Lyons with son Dr. Mark Lyons and daughter Aoife Lyons on stage at the closing session of Alltech Rebelation in Lexington. Both children hold executive positions within the company. Dr. Mark Lyons was recently announced as chairman and president.
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Courtesy Alltech
From left, Mark and Holly Lyons with Deirdre and Pearse Lyons Pearse at the opening of the Lyons Distillery in Dublin, Ireland.
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Courtesy Alltech
Dr. Lyons with Irish Prime Minster Bertie Ahern and European Director of Research Dr. Ronan Power at the official opening of Alltech's European Biosciences & Marketing Centre in Dunboyne, Ireland.
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Courtesy Alltech
Drs. Lyons and Deirdre Lyons at the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Lexington. As title sponsor and through great personal effort, Dr. Lyons was instrumental in bringing the games to the Bluegrass State.
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Dr. Lyons welcomed boxing legend Muhammad Ali to Alltech’s 2009 International Symposium.
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Courtesy Alltech
General Colin Powell joins Dr. Lyons onstage at The Alltech Ideas Conference in 2015.
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Courtesy Alltech
After visiting Haiti in the immediate aftermath of the devastating Jan. 2010 earthquake, Dr. Lyons began charitable efforts that have included the ongoing support of two elementary schools in the country.
One of Lyons’ numerous legacies will be the many University of Kentucky vocal students who have benefitted through the Alltech Vocal Scholarship Program that Lyons created, Everett McCorvey said.
McCorvey, director of the UK Opera Theater, noted that the annual Alltech Vocal Scholarship Competition will be held Sunday (March 12) at UK’s Singletary Center, and for the the first time ever Lyons will not be there to hear it.
McCorvey said that in addition to Lyons’ direct support for the program, he often took UK vocal students along with him when he visited Alltech offices in distant parts of the world. Frequently he had the students sing for workers on hand. At every stop he spread the word about the program back in Lexington, McCorvey said.
“Pearse loved music and he loved singing,” he said. “This is a loss for the entire state of Kentucky."
Photo by Theresa Stanley
Lyons was born Aug. 3, 1944, and grew up in Dundalk, in County Louth, on the east coast of Ireland about 30 miles north of Dublin. He was one of six children. Lyons said his entrepreneurial inspiration came from his mother, who ran a small grocery.
Lyons got his first job at age 14, working for the Harp Lager brewery in Dundalk. He later graduated with honors from University College in Dublin, then completed a bachelor’s and a doctorate at the University of Birmingham in England. He worked as a biochemist from the makers of Jameson Irish whiskey before moving to Kentucky with his wife and two children.
“The thoughts of our entire Alltech family around the world are with Dr. Lyons’ family, specifically his wife Deirdre, daughter Aoife, son Mark and Mark’s wife Holly,” said Alric Blake, CEO and treasurer of Alltech.
“Dr. Lyons was a visionary entrepreneur who transformed the agriculture industry beginning with his innovative application of yeast technology in animal nutrition. From farm to field, from market to family dinner table, our world is immeasurably better because he was a man who never saw problems, only a challenge that had not yet been solved."
Courtesy Alltech