Thomas J. Lyons
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Mr. Thomas J. Lyons has a longstanding commitment to service — to his country, community, and fellow Veterans.
Lyons was the vice president of external affairs at MassHousing, the state’s affordable housing bank, before his retirement in November 2018 after 16 years of service. From 1995 to 2002, he was the executive director of the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans. He served as Deputy Commissioner for Veterans’ Services for the City of Boston from 1984 to 1995. He was a cable installer for the Boston Edison Company from 1969 to 1984.
Born in South Boston, Massachusetts, Lyons graduated from South Boston High in 1967 and served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1967 to 1970. He is a decorated combat Veteran who served a tour of duty from 1968 to 1969 in Vietnam.
In 1978, Lyons organized a Veterans committee to pay tribute to those in his community who died during the Vietnam War. On September 13, 1981, the committee erected the South Boston Vietnam Memorial, the first of its kind. In 1987, he founded the Semper Fidelis Society of Boston, a Marine Corps organization that has grown to more than 2,500 members. The Society sponsors an annual luncheon on the Marine Corps Birthday and donates proceeds to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation and local Veteran charities. In addition, he started the annual Boston Marine Corps Honor Run, which raises money for the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation.
Lyons graduated from Boston State College in 1978 and completed the Senior Executive Fellows Program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in 1988. He has been honored with numerous awards and accolades, including the University of Massachusetts Boston Robert H. Quinn Award for Outstanding Community Leadership, the 2011 “Marine for Life” Award, for which he was recognized in 2012 for 30 years of advocacy on behalf of our nation’s Veterans, the Commandant’s Award from the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation in 2014, the John W. McCormick Public Service Award in 2016
Lyons serves on several boards and committees: chairman of the South Boston Vietnam Memorial Committee; chairman of the Governor’s Veterans Advisory Council; chairman of the Board of Trustees at the Chelsea Soldiers Home; director of the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation; chairman of the 2001, 2006, 2015, and 2021 Medal of Honor Society Convention; board member –for the Addiction Treatment Center New England; and legislative agent for the Massachusetts Veterans’ Service Officers Association.
Lyons lives in Wakefield, Massachusetts, with his wife, Jean. They have two daughters, Sarah and Maura, and a son, Todd, a Federal Agent in Immigration Customs Enforcement and combat Veteran of the Iraq War.
