Lyman C. Wear
July 22, 1919-April 13, 2017
Portola Valley, California
Described by all who knew him as a true gentleman, Lyman was a decorated WWII veteran and successful businessman, active in community service and a loving father and husband. He will be greatly missed.
Lyman was born in Lincoln, Nebraska and moved to Palo Alto, California, with his family when he was 16. He attended Stanford University, where he majored in journalism and joined the horse-drawn artillery of ROTC. Pearl Harbor interrupted his studies at the Harvard Business School. While training at Fort Lewis, Lyman surprised himself by proposing marriage in the middle of a letter to his sweetheart, Jean Simmons. They were married in December 1942, before Lyman shipped out to war.
On D-Day plus five, First Lieutenant Lyman Wear landed at Utah Beach with the F.A. 188th, VII Corps, of the First Army. He flew in a Piper Cub over battle lines as an observer, directing artillery, through France, Belgium and Germany. Major Wear received two air medals for flying 98 missions and an Oak Leaf Cluster.
After the war, Lyman returned to Stanford and completed his MBA. He and Jean settled in Menlo Park, and Lyman went to work at Macy’s California in San Francisco. The young couple were early members of the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church. They supported building the new church, led the youth group and held church offices for many years. Their family grew with daughters Charlene (1946), Nancy (1949) and Virginia (1953).
Lyman and Jean were co-founders of the Menlo Atherton Cooperative Nursery and later led the Hillview School and Menlo Atherton PTAs. Lyman was active in the California Republican League, Toastmasters International, Kiwanis and chaired the Menlo Park Library Board which renovated and expanded the library. In 1988, Lyman and Jean received the city’s Golden Acorn Award for their community service. After Lyman retired as Macy’s Controller, he volunteered for the Small Business Administration advising local entrepreneurs. Jean died in 1994, lovingly cared for by Lyman.
In 1995, Lyman moved to the Sequoias in Portola Valley and became active in the affairs of the community. At the Sequoias, he met and married Densye Peach, who predeceased him in 2016.
Lyman is survived by his three daughters; grandchildren Paul and Brian Evans, Dana and Sheri Simmons and Rose Caplette; and, great-grandchildren Lazare Saadia, Karis Desai, and Thomas, Marian and Peter Evans.
Tags: veteran, business, public service
