Norma Lyon,, American farmer and butter sculpture artist died he was 81

Norma Duffield Stong "Duffy" Lyon was an American farmer and artist nicknamed The Butter Cow Lady died he was  81. She was known for creating elaborate butter sculptures at the Iowa State Fair from 1960 until 2006, when she retired.^[1] She also created sculptures for other state fairs, as well as commissioned works for celebrities and politicians.
(July 29, 1929 – June 26, 2011)

Early years

Lyon was born in Nashville, Tennessee, the daughter of Benton J. Stong, a newspaper reporter, and his wife, Elsa. Her grandmother, Bertha Clark, was a founder of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, and her uncle, Phil Stong, wrote the book State Fair, which was later made into three movies and a stage musical.^[2]
She studied animal science at Iowa State University, because they did not allow women in their Veterinary Sciences program at the time.^[3] There she trained in sculpture with artist Christian Petersen.^[4]

Family

She married Gaylord "Joe" Lyon on July 22, 1950 in Ames, Iowa, and they moved to Toledo, Iowa, to run their dairy farm, Lyon Jerseys.^[5] The couple had nine children.^[4]

Career

In 1960, she took over the Iowa State Fair butter cow creation, a tradition since 1911. She later expanded to creating other sculptures, including Garth Brooks, Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Peanuts characters, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, American Gothic by Grant Wood and the Last Supper.^[6] She also made busts of Katie Couric, Matt Lauer, Barack Obama and a cheese bust of David Letterman.
Lyon appeared on To Tell the Truth in 1963, and was correctly identified as the Butter Cow Lady by the panelists.^[2][7] She later appeared on Late Night with David Letterman with a cow carved from cheese.^[7] She was the subject of a 2002 book, The Butter Cow Lady, written by Brenda Mickle.^[8]

Death

She died of a stroke in Marshalltown, Iowa, age 81.^[2] She was survived by a large extended family, including her husband, nine children and 23 grandchildren.

 

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