David Lyons recently celebrated his 80th birthday at the Bayou Club with 130 of his relatives and closest friends. The self-made extravaganza was on March 28th, a beautiful-weather night that lasted from five pm till almost midnight. 

The festivities began with two lovely Polynesian-looking women handing out leis to the party-goers as they entered the dining room. Seat assignments were packaged in an envelope that also included a program and raffle tickets and were arranged by David and wife Jeanne, which created a wedding-like atmosphere. David acted as his own master of ceremonies and, after thanking his guests for attending, launched into a video (created by Bill Barker) of their recent cruise with friends and a hilarious costumed Halloween party. 

Most guests were dressed in tropical attire to fit in with the Caribbean island decorations in the room. The raffle tickets produced prizes like bottles of wine, Easter baskets, and two and three hundred dollars in cash. Bill, the DJ, provided the musical entertainment for both listening pleasure during dinner and dancing afterwards. The meal, after a sixty minute cocktail hour, was a plated sit-down waiter-served affair. 

Attendees included David’s brother and wife, three grandchildren, and two daughters with their husbands. David’s oldest friend from sixth grade, Frank Cook, came in, as did his Florida State fraternity brothers and even some high school classmates.  The Bicycle Boys Club was represented, along with pickleballers, neighbors, and congregants of St. Anne of Grace Church.

There was a dance contest with prizes, and a hypnotist who made participants think that they were glued to their chairs and that their first names were “e i e i o”! A willing waitress was the first to be hypnotized, and later she also donned an Easter Bunny costume. A husband and wife team took professional pictures and she sang a beautiful rendition of the Etta James song “At Last.” 

Good friend (and Bill’s wife) Mary Barker provided one of her fabulous specialty cakes (see photo), and David created his own playlist for the DJ to play. David spent four hours per day for four days listening to dance music and dancing to those songs in his room. He picked out the songs that he could dance to and gave those to the DJ. He also gave away as a party favor custom printed wine glasses shipped in from California. 

David wants to thank some of the people that helped make this party the successful and memorable affair that it was; Janina (the events planner) and her sister and the wait staff, especially Jenna and Atilla.

Many friends and neighbors wanted to comment about the party: Barbara Berry (12 year HOA president Gene’s wife) had a great time; “David is the happiest person I know,” she said. Molly and Andy said, “It was such a wonderful party. We thoroughly enjoyed it.” Mary Hodge said, “Thank you for last night; you sure know how to throw a party!"  Debora Folz praised, “We had so much fun at your party. Thank you for inviting us!" Dr. Toni Rust wrote in, “Your daughters and wife are beautiful. You and Jeanne make a beautiful couple.” Kelly Kennedy said, “Such a fun party last night. Thank you for including us. We had a great time." Richard Shelsky emailed, "David, it was a great party and I was so happy to celebrate (your) 80th birthday with you.”

Lastly, the hypnotist, Denise Hall wrote this to David: “Thank you for having me perform at your celebration. What a joy it was to be there. Everyone was so happy, the air was electric. I had such interesting conversations with the folks at my table. They were funny, lively, and interesting, (and) the dinner was delicious!”

And David's response to all there, "The presence of all of you at my party was a priceless gift!  I treasure each of you!"