Bill Lyons message Board |
| timco | Bill since his retirement has helped many groups around the city of Birmingham not the least of which Birmingham Carers Association and Birmingham Carers Support Services. He was the first and till his death only treasurer of BCA and was likewise the first and only DOF for BCSS.
He has chaired things from the local Community Health Council to the Gateway Club that his son Barry attended. He has raised many thousands of pounds on behalf of many organisations within the city and all of this has been done in his quiet unassuming way.
Bill Lyons was a true gentleman and carer who will be missed by everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him.
Our thoughts at this time are with his family especially his wife Laura and youngest son Barry who will now face life without their rock.
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| Pat M | I have known Bill for many years and am like so many others stunned and shocked to hear of his death. He was my teacher, friend, estemed collegue and so much more. I once walked the streets of Washington DC with Bill and Tim and my respect for all they did as Carers and all the work they have done to further the profile and support for other Carers grew by the minute. God bless you Bill and my thoughts are with Bill's lovely family. |
| Joanne | I was deeply shocked and saddened to here the news. Bill was a such a kind, giving and friendly person. He was always willing to give up his own time for others and always brightened up the office when he came in.
He will be missed beacuse of all the work he did, but also because of his happy, warm and generous spirit.
All my prayers are with Bill's family to help them get through this hard time. |
| virinder | Bill was one of a kind. He was a gentle kind hearted person who had time, patience and empathy and alot of warmth for all. He worked so hard throughout to improve the lives of carers in every way he could. I am sure that like me, all those he touched with his kindness will be feeling this great loss too. God Bless |
| cathy | Bill was a great inspiration to me. He was a great voice for Carers - with his wisdom, experience and above all humanity. My thoughts go to all who loved and admired him. Thank you, Bill, you gave us all so much. |
| Indy | Bill was the nicest man that i have ever known. He will be missed. |
| Nasreen | I am so sorry to hear this news, Bill's commitment and support to myself
and colleagues in the Education Service has been invaluable and in
particular both his personal and professional experience as a carer and as
Chair of Beaufort Special School. |
| Tom Tierney | I just wanted to say how shocked
I was to hear about Bill. It is a devestating blow for all of you and his
family, and for all carers.
Bill semed to me to be a model of everything that is best. His dedication,
clarity and determination to stand up for carers and children with all
sorts of needs was so impressive. I know you will miss him as you were
obviously working so close together, but you might be surprised at the
impact he made on people like me, who didn't often see him but always came
away with important new perspectives.
Anyway, very best wishes to all of you at this sad time. |
| Jill | I have known Bill for many years.His care and compassion for Carers and the people they care for has been of the very best quality. A truly remarkable man!!
My deepest condolences go to his family.
He will never be forgotten. |
| Suzy | I can truly say that Bill was one of the kindest, most genuine and thoughtful people I have ever known and will be so greatly missed by all that knew him.
Bill’s sudden passing has been a huge shock and I am finding it hard to put into words how I feel at this very sad time.
So much of Bill’s time was spent supporting, campaigning and helping others with immense enthusiasm, particularly Carers and people with a learning disability but also anyone who he came in contact with. He supported all these people with such deep consideration, empathy and heartfelt dedication – always knowing what to say and do. All I can say is thanks Bill – you were a true gentleman and a pleasure to work alongside – always remaining cheerful and polite.
There is now a big hole of emptiness in our ‘family’ at Birmingham Carers which will never be replaced. We will, however, endeavour to continue the hard work of Bill Lyons at Birmingham Carers - we will always remember him and we will miss him terribly.
My sincere condolences go to Bill’s family and all those who were close to him. I feel proud and honoured to have known and worked with such a good hearted and well respected man. |
| John Hemming | I would like to add my condolences to those of others. Bill worked hard for Carers and will not be forgotten. |
| Paul | I only knew Bill for a few months, but even in that short time came to have the greatest respect for him. He was a thoroughly likeable and decent man and there are too few people in this World like Bill. My thoughts are with his family. |
| Stella Forsdike | As with all others who have responded, I am immensely saddened to hear about Bill's death. I have the fondest memories of him as a man who was gentle, kind and unfailingly cheerful, despite the stresses he undoubtedly experienced.
I worked with him over a number of years, on a number of issues, and it was always a pleasure to work with him.
I would have wished to attend his funeral, but cannot. I shall be there in spirit.
My sincere condolences to his family. |
| Alison Thompson | Within the LD service we were so shocked to hear the news about Bill. I can think of no-one who has done more in Birmingham to champion the needs of people with learning disabilities and their carers. He was such a special person, so warm and caring and always cheerful. We will remember him with great affection and will always be grateful to him for his huge contribution to the service. Our thoughts are with his family at this very sad time. |
| Wendy Westley | On behalf of all those who knew Bill in Carers Support at EBPCT and from the EBPCT Strategy Group, I would like to say that Bill was much more than a colleague..... He was a friend, support and inspiration. We will miss him so much. Our thoughts are with with you all, especially his family and friends. |
| Anne James | I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work alongside Bill as a volunteer with Birmingham Carers Association and then get invited to join the board of Birmingham Carers Support Services.
It has been 5 years or longer and Bill was always there for me, also Tim too, being the ‘baby’ of the clan I looked up to Bill for his experience and hopefully have learnt from his way of working! Just being at the end of a phone or email to help with any questions queries or concerns I had, I knew I would get a response. Never once have I been told ‘I don’t have the time at the moment’ and it never mattered if Bill was having lunch with Laura, his dear wife. Bill was such a polite, respected and smart man, never loud, he knew what he was talking about and stuck to his beliefs.
I am going to miss Bill and getting him his favourite sandwich, cheese and pickle on white bread ( which was very difficult to get ) not a fancy food man very plain English food. We had some great times out for work meals Bill would have a glass of wine with his meal and no more. He was a laugh and so down to earth, a great family man too. Meetings I attend with Bill, mainly on children’s services, will not be the same and if any cheese and pickle sarnies available I will have one for you Bill, even though cheese gives me a headache at my age!!
I hope I have learnt from Bill and be able to carry on his good work to the best of my ability, for Carers.
We, at Birmingham Carers and Birmingham Carers Association, are at a total loss but hopefully can pull together and support each other in our grief.
My thoughts are with Laura (even though I have only spoken to Laura on the phone I was always treated with politeness) and the family Bill leaves behind. It is such a sad loss to the community, carers and loved ones with Learning Disabilities.
To other organisations Bill did work for, I do hope you are able to continue with the good work Bill did, although he will be a difficult act to follow.
Also Bill’s beloved Villa, not so much nowadays as he would say football has changed, they finished above the Blues again, but Villa find it difficult to win Blues in a match, maybe next season Bill?
'It's been great having met you Bill'. |
| Rod Ling | I don't often read the Evening Mail but by chance did so this evening and discovered the item about the funeral for Bill Lyons.
I wanted to write to add my small tribute to all the others that have been written for Bill. I remember him as a good-hearted man, totally committed to the cause of carers in both the city and the country at large. I obviously have warm memories of him for the contribution that he made to the partnership that established the ARC at Moseley School. He was always prepared to put himself out to attend countless meetings or events connected with that period, towards the end of the 20th century. I always appreciated his support and hope that I made my feelings clear to him at the time
I would appreciate it if you could forward my and the School's condolences to his family. I'm sure that he will be sadly missed but I hope too that they can experience the consolation of knowing that he was a good man who made a positive difference to the lives of people, many of whom will never even know his name.
I hope that the funeral went well and provided those who attended with a fitting celebration of his life. |
| Shirley Mallon | I wish to pay tribute to Bill from the Joint Commissioning Strategy Group of Eastern Birmingham Primary Care Trust and Birmingham Social Care and Health Directorate.
We heard the news at our meeting on Friday and were profoundly shocked and rendered unable to carry on for some considerable time. Bill was always there, we can't imagine life without him. There was always a chair for him at our meetings and there will still be a chair at the table for him in future.
He has fought for service improvements for people with learning disabilities and their carers for many years. At times he would say that he felt he was getting nowhere and that he was repeating the same things he asked for many years ago. But he was never bitter or cyncial. As his grandaughter said at his funeral he had open arms for everyone. He always greeted each new set of staff as he found them, never judged people by their predecessors. He had faith that the new ones could make it happen after all.
I am only glad that in the last year, he saw we were turning a corner. And that he had personally brought much of it about.
He lived to see the development of training for carers to make them more skilful at the task that faced them. He lived to see the expansion of the use of Hospital Books to aid medical and ward staff to communicate with people with learning disabilities about their health needs. He lived to see extra resources put in to clear the backlog of carers assessments. He lived to see the opening up of primary care and mental health to welcome people with learning disabilities and provide them with the same health care as everyone else. He lived to see the move to setting up large numbers of people with learning disabilities in their own homes rather than forcing them to live in institutions against their wishes.
We will continue to use the Bill Lyons test in what we do. We will ask ourselves what Bill would have thought about each new development.
He will never be forgotten. |
| Judy McDonald | On behalf of HOB LD forum I would like to say that Bill has been a great asset to the forum since it began and will be dearly missed. As with everyone we are deeply shocked by the news and our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time. |
| Margaret Gilliver | I have known Bill for the 4 years I have been in this post. I have always found him to be a most warmhearted man and so very helpful. This is a great loss to all who knew him. I would send my heartfelt condolences to his family. |
| Anne Palgrare & family | My family offer deepest sympathy to Bill's family. He will be greatly
missed as he has worked long and hard for the disabled and their families.
We as a family greatly appreciate all he did. |
| Jayne | I was shocked and saddened to hear the news that Bill had passed away. He was an enormous inspiration to me during my work with Birmingham Carers Association and Birmingham Carers Support Services. I too, was in Washington with Bill, and was struck by the total committment he gave to the project as well as his fun, down to earth approach to life. "He will leave a big hole in all our hearts and my thoughts are with Laura and Barry at this time." |