Lonnie Lester Lyons, 63, of Rochester, Minnesota, passed away unexpectedly on April 20, 2018.

Lonnie was born in Rochester on November 1, 1954 to Lester and Lucille (Bjugan) Lyons. He attended grade school in Rochester and high school in Pine Island. He attended Minnesota Bible College in Rochester, North Central Bible College in Minneapolis, and graduated from Valley Forge Christian College in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania where he earned a Bachelor's of Science Degree in Bible in 1978. Lonnie went into full-time ministry, first as a youth pastor in Syracuse, New York; then worked alongside the pastoral staff in Spokane, Washington and Fairbanks, Alaska. He also worked for a time with the Teen Challenge program in Buffalo, New York. In 1982, Lonnie married Kathleen Weiss.

Lonnie felt called to minister the gospel as an evangelist and started traveling throughout the United States preaching as well as singing. In 1976, he formed The Light Evangelistic Association, Inc. as an outreach ministry in Rochester, Minnesota with a two-fold purpose; one was to travel as an itinerant evangelist, and second was to have an outreach program to help people with food, clothing, and shelter needs. In 1995, a Guest House for clinic patients and families was completed and dedicated by Mayor Chuck Hazama.

In 1983, he was invited to attend the Billy Graham Amsterdam '83 conference for itinerant evangelists, and again later in 1986. Attending these conferences opened up many doors of ministry speaking engagements in churches in England, Holland, Germany, and Switzerland; military bases in Mainz and Wiesbaden, Germany; Teen Challenge centers in Germany, Switzerland, and Holland; as well as street ministry. Lonnie was ordained with the General Council of the Assemblies of God at the Minnesota District Council in 1988. In 1993, he attended the NAICE 93 Billy Graham conference in Louisville, Kentucky. Throughout all these years, he continued to travel in ministry and operate the outreach in Rochester. In 2007, he traveled to Mexico to help in the aftermath of a devastating tornado and returned to Mexico several times since to minister the gospel.

Lonnie was well known in the community, always ready to be a servant, and an encourager as he shared his love for the Lord. He had a big heart and he loved people. His friendliness and smiling face will truly be missed.

Lonnie is survived by his wife, Kathleen, of 36 years; daughters, Lackel and Larissa; sons, Lessing and Lathan; and his brother, Les. He was preceded in death by his parents.

Memorials are preferred to the family.

A Celebration of Life service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 28th at Highpoint Church, 4545 N Frontage Rd in Rochester. A visitation will be held on hour prior to the service at the church. Burial will be in the Zumbrota Cemetery.