Barbara Baldwin Lyons, an author and descendant of the prominent Baldwin family on Maui, died Wednesday at her home in Makawao. She was 89. Deep love for Hawaii found
shape in writer’s
books and columnsBARBARA BALDWIN LYONS / 1912-2001
See also: OBITUARIES
By Lisa Asato
lasato@starbulletin.comBorn in Honolulu in 1912, Lyons was the middle child of the late Samuel Alexander Baldwin, who managed the Haleakala Ranch Co. Ltd. and Haleakala Dairy. Her grandfather Henry P. Baldwin was one of Maui's agricultural pioneers.
Lyons was descended from some of the earliest missionaries to the islands. "Her ancestors arrived in Hawaii in the 1840s, so she had a deeply engraved love of Hawaii and the Hawaiian culture," said daughter Shaun Baldwin Lyons.
And her mother wrote about her love in books and a column that she wrote for years in the Maui News, Shaun Lyons said.
She wrote "The Brook," a novel about growing up in Hawaii in the early 20th century, and two volumes of Hawaiian myths, "Fire and Water" and "Maui, Mischievous Hero."
Shaun said her mother had lived at Haleakala Ranch since she was 6 years old. "She was an avid reader and wonderful on horseback," she said.
Lyons was a member of the Maui Historical Society, Hawaiian Mission Children's Society, Daughters of Hawaii and Friends of the Library.
Lyons is also survived by sons Michael Henry Lyons II and Samuel A.B. Lyons, eight grandchildren, one great-grandchild, sister Mary Abby "Opae" Baldwin Willey and brother Richard Hobron "Manduke" Baldwin.
A celebration of life service will be held Oct. 19 at 4 p.m. at the family's Makawao home at 495 Kealaloa Ave. Donations may be made to the Maui Historical Society at 2375-A Main St., Wailuku, HI 96793; or to the Hawaiian Mission Children's Society, 553 S. King St., Honolulu, HI 96813.