Vincent G. Lyons

Born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 17, 1945, Vincent G. Lyons was a graduate of Cardinal Farley Military Academy in Rhinebeck, New York, and Fordham University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in economics. Vincent was an army veteran who served as an MP (military police) in Stuttgart, Germany. In 1969, he joined the FDNY, where he worked at Ladder 6 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, at Ladder Companies 161 and 166 in Coney Island, Brooklyn, and at Ladder 35 in Midtown Manhattan, ultimately rising through the ranks to become a battalion chief in the 43rd Battalion in Brooklyn. Vincent was funny and charismatic; he had an effortless way of lighting up a room and making people smile. He was also ‘the soul of generosity,’ as his wife often said. Generosity was what constituted his life. It was how he moved through the world, and it very much defined him. When he saw need, his way was not to feel momentary empathy and then move on with his day. Always, he helped. This was who he was. This was perhaps the most beautiful, the most pure, the most genuinely good part of who Vincent Lyons was. He was also quite intelligent and loved to read. He liked to recount how he had read Beowulf to his daughter when she was just a few months old. To hear him tell it, she had quite enjoyed it, when she wasn’t crying for her pacifier or trying to eat the pages. Deeply curious, Vincent never stopped learning about the world around him, a world that filled him with wonder and awe for his entire life. Family was so important to Vincent. He was the quintessential “girl dad” before that term had been coined. He adored his wife, daughters, and grandchildren, and would drop anything in a heartbeat to help them out or spend time with them.

He absolutely loved his 35 years on the FDNY and was heartbroken when various injuries forced him to retire. Vincent’s favorite thing about being a firefighter was hands-down all the great guys who became his friends along the way. The firehouse was his sanctuary, his second home. It is impossible to fully convey how much “being on the job,” as he always called it, meant to him. It’s kind of funny that he always called it “being on the job,” because it was so much more than a job. Vincent died on February 23, 2023, from 9/11-related cancer. His wife and soulmate, Patricia, died just days later, and his family takes comfort in the fact that they are together.