Below is an obituary from Nichols Funeral Home:
WILMINGTON, MA — Major Donald O. Lyman, Sr., USMC (retired), of Wilmington, passed away on March 16, 2025, at the age of 93. Son of the late Sylvester and Mary Lyman, Donald was the devoted husband of his wife, Ethel (Grant) Lyman, who predeceased him in 2022; loving father of his son, Donald Lyman, Jr.; and brother of the late Paul Lyman and Robert Lyman. He is survived by his son, Donald Jr., his brother Philip, his sister Mary (Lyman) Gray and her husband Brad, his brother-in-law Louis Costa, his sister-in-law, Marie Costa, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Born on June 10, 1931, in Boston, Donald was a resident of Charlestown until he graduated from Malden Catholic High School in 1949. He played hockey for Malden Catholic as a goalie. Donald often recounted stories of his family’s summer vacations at a lakeside cottage in Dracut when he was a boy, where he said he enjoyed swimming, fishing, and trapping muskrats for their pelts, which he sold. After high school he spent a year at the University of Idaho, where he studied forestry and fire fighting, before returning to Charlestown.
Donald subsequently joined the Marine Corps, after accompanying a friend who was enlisting in the Navy at a local recruiting station. While waiting for his friend, a recruiting officer needed someone to pose for a picture as a new Marine Corps recruit, and asked Donald if he’d be willing to be in the picture, even though he hadn’t enlisted. The photo subsequently appeared in the Boston Herald American newspaper, and family and friends began congratulating him on joining the Marines, so he then felt compelled to actually enlist.
After boot camp, he was deployed to Korea during the Korean War, where he worked as a jet engine mechanic. After returning from Korea, he married his high school sweetheart, Ethel Grant, on August 15, 1954. He worked for a couple of years at Pratt and Whitney aircraft engine manufacturers, before re-enlisting in the Marines in 1956. He was a drill instructor at Parris Island for several years, before going to Officer Candidate School at Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Virginia. After becoming an officer, he served at various duty stations, including Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Okinawa, Japan, and Quantico, Virginia.
While in the Marine Corps, Donald enjoyed boating with family and friends, and taking his young son, Donald Jr. (“Donny”), fishing. As a young boy, Donny often ate in the Marine mess halls with his dad, where he developed a taste for grits and creamed beef on toast.
During his 22-year career in the Marines, Donald became a “mustang”, advancing from the enlisted ranks to an officer, with the eventual rank of major. Donald retired from the Marines in 1972 and began a second career at a fire insurance company. After inspecting insured properties for several years, he took computer programming courses at Harvard Extension School and computerized his company.
Donald and Ethel earned their bachelor’s degrees together at Harvard Extension School. During their years studying at Harvard, they often enjoyed dining out in Harvard Square after classes. Donald graduated with a degree in history in June of 1990, and Ethel earned a degree in English.
After 20 years at the insurance company, Donald retired in his early sixties. During retirement, he and Ethel enjoyed going on cruises and traveling several times a year to places such as Europe, Canada, Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, California, and the Caribbean.
Donald was a Marine through and through, and loved telling stories about his career in the Marine Corps. He said that when he joined the Marines, he had found his home. He also maintained his Marine Corps fitness standards, and for the first 20 years or so that he lived in Wilmington after retiring from the Marines, he became well known to area residents as he jogged several miles a day along local roads.
He was much loved by family and friends and will be greatly missed.
Family and friends are invited for Visitation at the Nichols Funeral Home, Inc., 187 Middlesex Ave., (Rte. 62), Wilmington, on Sunday, March 30, from 2 to 4 pm, followed by a Funeral Service with Military Honors at 4 pm.
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