Eleanor Fitzgerald Lyons

Eleanor Fitzgerald Lyons, 94, of Hilton Head, passed away peacefully on November 16, 2025.

She lived in the Bluffton area for the past 29 years, having retired to the Sun City Hilton Head community with her husband Joseph, from New Jersey. Eleanor was a loving and dedicated wife and mother, often described throughout her life as a force to be reckoned with. She was kind and warm-hearted, fierce and feisty, to the very end. She will be dearly missed by her children, grandchildren, extended family and friends.

Eleanor grew up in Queens, NY, attended high school at Dominican Academy in Manhattan and went on to study at Annhurst College and then Fordham University. She excelled in her studies at Fordham and graduated in 1955. She went on to earn an MBA from NYU, one of only two women in the program. She became the executive secretary to the President of TWA, Charles Thomas and made good use of her TWA travel pass to see the world, her favorite city being Paris. She met Joseph Lyons while vacationing on the New Jersey shore, and they were married in 1960.

She gave birth to four children between 1961- 1966. Christopher, Lenore, Laura, and John.

While raising her family in Matawan and then Holmdel, NJ, she volunteered doing fundraising for a social service organization and organized baby showers in a pre-natal clinic for impoverished mothers. She worked as a substitute teacher, ran an SAT Prep course and finally became a sales agent for MetLife, focused on helping young families get the life insurance they needed. At Sun City, she co-founded the “Sew What Club”, making doll’s clothes and other crafts.

Eleanor cherished her Irish heritage and maintained the bond with her Irish relations. She travelled extensively with Joseph during their marriage of 55 years, in Europe, and North and South America, she enjoyed reading, with a noted fondness for Agatha Christie mysteries. She appreciated music and the arts and had a special love for Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals and the waltzes of Johann Strauss. She shared with her daughter Laura a passion for ballet.

Eleanor was in the midst of planning a last trip to Ireland and a family cruise to the Caribbean when she broke her hip and had a stroke in 2018, which necessitated a move into assisted living. The last seven years of her life were challenging, with the loss of mobility and other infirmities of aging, though her spirit remained strong.

Eleanor's parents, David and Nora Fitzgerald were immigrants from Ireland, who met while working in service jobs as chauffeur and lady’s maid and later owned a gas station. They lived in Jackson Heights, Queens, where Eleanor and her sister Joan were born and grew up during the Great Depression and WW2. She revered President Roosevelt and remained a staunch Democrat throughout her life. Her Catholic faith and education informed her values of service to others, excellence and social justice and she exemplified these attributes quietly through her life and work.

Eleanor is survived by her children; Christopher Lyons, Lenore Lyons Kostopoulos and John Lyons, her grandchildren; Julia Lyons, Aiden Karrh, Sophia Lyons and Emma Karrh. Also survived by her sons-in-law; Gregory Karrh and George Kostopoulos. Predeceased by husband Joseph (d.2016) and daughter Laura Lyons Karrh (d.2024).

The funeral mass will be held on Monday, December 22nd at 10:30 am at St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church, 31 St. Gregory Dr., Bluffton, SC.

Memorial donations may be made to the Maryknoll Sisters https://www.maryknollsisters.org/