Retiree's second career is tutoring children in math

In addition to having time to devote to travel, hobbies, family and friends, retirement can provide an opportunity to explore all kinds of fulfilling experiences.

Jim Lyons retired Oct. 31, 1999, after a career in graphic arts that spanned 40 years. When his daughter, Kathie Clifford, asked him for the third or fourth time, he agreed to volunteer tutor at North School in Des Plaines where she is a fifth-grade teacher.

Now, in addition to volunteering, he is a one-man recruitment agency promoting the need for volunteers and the benefits of helping others. He encouraged his friend, John Nowak, to join him as well as two friends, Bob Szumal and Al Leksander, from the Elks Club in Des Plaines, who are also tutoring at North School.

Also, he never misses an opportunity to encourage people who live in the same senior community as he does to get involved in volunteer work in their area.

"I work one-on-one or on a two-to-one basis with the students," Lyons said. "They are well-mannered, they pay attention and I have developed a close relationship with them."

When he lived in Des Plaines he tutored children in reading and math two days a week. After moving to Grayslake, the 52-mile commute forced him to cut back to one day, and focus on math.

"I get tremendous satisfaction from what I do, and know that I receive far more than I give," Lyons said.

At the end of every year Clifford and her class host a party for the volunteers, where each one gets a special folder as a memento of the time they spent together.

"We try to keep it a secret that I am their teacher's father until the end of the year, but sometimes children who have had Mrs. Clifford as their teacher leak our secret to their younger siblings."

The individual coaching Lyons provides has rewards for the students, too. They consistently show an improvement in their math grades.

"He really missed his calling; he should have been a teacher," said his daughter.

"The kids really love going with him, and he explains what they are doing, and how it relates to their everyday lives. He treats the students with respect, and in turn, they respect him. I am truly blessed to have my Dad and the other volunteers working in my classroom. He was my first math teacher, and now he has tutored three of his granddaughters."

Lyons and his wife, Chris, have been married 47 years, and they have three sons, three daughters, and 17 grandchildren. Currently, they live in Grayslake, but are former residents of Des Plaines. Lyons, a member of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, enjoys golf and art in his spare time, but the couple's primary focus is their family and attending the grandchildren's many activities.