Arlie Lyons Bybee

Born in Hot Lake, Oregon to Myron Reid Lyons and Eva Chadwick Lyons, Arlie spent her early life in the Caldwell-Nampa area on her parents’ farm. She met her future husband, Duane Arden Bybee in 1947, when Duane worked on her family’s farm in Huston, Idaho for the summer. They married on Christmas Day in 1949. The couple moved to Topeka, Kansas, and Duane attended Washburn University, where he graduated with honors with a law degree in 1953. The couple then moved to Nampa, where Duane went to work for Canyon County as Assistant Prosecuting Attorney until 1956, when he was hired by the Union Pacific Railroad as Assistant General Counsel, moving to Pocatello. When the UPRR Pocatello law office closed in 1969, the family moved to Salt Lake City, where Duane continued to work in the same capacity for the UPRR. In 1974, the Salt Lake law office was closed, and the family moved back to Pocatello, where Duane worked in private practice until his retirement in 1987.

Throughout her life, Arlie enjoyed many different activities, including golfing, racquetball, sailing, aerobics, and gardening. In her younger days, she also enjoyed snowmobiling, hiking and camping, and even tried skiing at the age of 65. She was an accomplished wildlife artist, working primarily in oil and in pastel pencil, and was an avid reader. She volunteered with the Red Cross, helping with a number of blood drives, and served in various officer positions for the Riverside Ladies’ Golfing Association, of which she was a member for a number of years.

Arlie passed away on May 3, 2022 in Chubbuck, Idaho at the age of 94. She was preceded in death by her husband, Duane (January 6, 2018), her parents, her three brothers (Glen Lyons, Dale Lyons, and Earl Lyons) and two sisters (Shirley Orcutt and Lucile Ward). She is survived by her three children: Jean Martin and husband, Bob Martin (Pingree, Idaho); Scott Bybee and wife, Cathy Bybee (Longmont, Colorado); and Gale Cochran-Smith and husband, Mark Smith (Nocona, Texas). Arlie is also survived by one sister, Reva Clark (McKinleyville, California) and her granddaughter, Heather Bybee (San Francisco, California). As per Arlie’s wishes, no funeral or public memorial service will be held, with the family to hold a private memorial ceremony at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to support the residents’ activities programs at Grace Independent & Assisted Living in Chubbuck, Idaho. 

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