Martha Lyans

Madison-Martha Ellen Lyans was born in Madison on October 26, 1951, the second of three daughters, to Glenn M. Lyans and Lois M. (nee Brown) She graduated from James Madison Memorial High School in 1972 and lived most of her life in Madison, apart from a couple of years in Texas.
As a person living with high functioning autism, Martha faced many challenges growing up in an era that did not understand her unique view of the world, but that did not prevent her from living a full life. She loved to travel and went on many trips with her family across the United States and traveled to Mexico and England with her mother. More recently, she enjoyed group travel with Search Beyond Adventures. Her travels included trips to Costa Rica, Denmark, Sweden and a cruise to the Eastern Caribbean where she loved San Juan!
Martha loved animals and had numerous dogs, cats, birds and other pets growing up, including a horned toad and two small tortoises. She brought her love of animals into her business, Mrs. Bow Wowz Gourmet Dog Treats. For 10 years she made and sold her handmade dog and cat biscuits at MARC-RES (Madison Area Rehabilitation Centers -Responsive Employment Services) until she retired earlier this year. http://host.madison.com/news/dog-biscuits-baked-with-a-dream-two-women-with-disabilities/article_47ea0c26-9842-59e5-8e77-cea4449c1af2.html
Martha also received support from Community Living Connections, a local non-profit organization whose mission is to support individuals to live their best life in their own home and in the community. CLC helped Martha to live as independently as possible in her own apartment in downtown Madison. Martha was supported by CLC since 1987 and will be dearly missed by so many of her support staff who will never forget her smile or her phone calls.
Everyone who knew Martha knew she loved roses. She would bury her nose in a bouquet and exclaim, "I just love roses. They're so sweet and pretty". She also had savant skills regarding dates on the calendar. If you told her a random date from decades ago, she could tell you what day of the week it was. From now on we will all know what day of the week was June 28th, 2017, the day Martha died. It was a Wednesday.
Martha was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her sisters Mary Lyans and Melissa Lyans, numerous cousins, nieces and nephews, her Case Manager and longtime friend, Odulia Halstead, and all of her friends at CLC and MARC-RES, who will miss her and always remember her with great affection.
A private burial was held on July 1st at Sunset Memory Gardens, where Martha will rest next to her parents. A celebration of life will be planned for later in the month. In lieu of flowers, contributions in honor of Martha can be made to Community Living Connections http://www.clconnections.org/donate-now.php or to the Madison Area Rehabilitation Center http://marc-inc.org/ or to the Dane County Humane Society www.giveshelter.org