Alumni Years
Memories of K. Margaret Lyons ’49
By Karen McQuigge ’90
“Who are you?”
Those were the first words Margaret Lyons ever said to me. It’s not often you remember that kind of thing, but then Margaret was impressively memorable.
We met because I was a relatively new member of the Alumni Office team and Margaret was already one of the McMaster Alumni Association’s most dedicated volunteers. On the day we spoke for the first time, we were both early arrivals – she was always early – for an Alumni Association board meeting. She asked me a few pointed questions, sized up my responses, found that I passed some sort of muster and then went to the sandwich tray where she hunted her favourites.
As it would turn out, this interaction was quintessentially Margaret.
Deeply grateful towards McMaster for accepting her back in 1944 when no other institution would, Lyons became a devoted alumna, champion, and donor to the University. Despite decades passing after graduating with a Bachelor's degree, Lyons continued to stay involved within the McMaster community by establishing a philanthropic legacy alongside her husband, Ed. In 1996, she was awarded with a Doctorate of Letters by McMaster University.
To learn more about Lyons' contributions to McMaster, please feel free to engage in the various articles, documents, and images showcased below.
Honourary Degree
Donations to the McMaster Museum of Art
In 1992, Margaret Lyons graciously donated some of the Japanese artwork she has collected over her lifetime to the McMaster Museum of Art. Displayed below are titles of some of her most famous donated works; please click any of the links below to find the full collection, housed under the label "Japanese Prints from Margaret Lyons".