William John Lyddon

Dr. William "Bill" Lyddon of Ocean Springs, died on Thursday, June 10, 2010. Bill was a distinguished professor of psychology at The University of Southern Mississippi from 1989-2008. During his career at USM he published over 95 journal articles and book chapters and also participated in several international conferences in such locations as Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, and British Columbia. The most important part of his professional life was the strong mentoring relationship that he developed with his students. Under his direction, 25 graduate students earned the doctoral degree and are now serving in universities and counseling centers all over the world. Bill was born in Denver and received degrees from The University of Southern Mississippi, California State University, Fresno, and the University of California at Santa Barbara. In 1979, he married his wife of 30 years, Darlys Alford (who also taught psychology at USM Gulf Coast). Outside of his work at the University, Bill was an accomplished jazz guitarist, arranger, and composer; he enjoyed international and independent films; he often shared his love of cooking Thai and Asian dishes with friends and family. Bill is preceded in death by his grandparents, Anna and Victor Novak of Denver, CO, and Marjorie Lyddon of Buffalo, NY; aunts and uncles Estelle and Andy Bielanowski of Fresno, CA, and Al Novak of Utah. He is survived by his parents Thomas Lyddon of Waveland and Laura and Aubrey Saxon of Hattiesburg; beloved wife Darlys Alford and two sons, Nathan Wiens of Ocean Springs, and David Wiens of San Francisco, CA; two brothers, Tim Lyddon of the Philippines and Mike Lyddon of Lima, Peru; aunts Delores Upton of Denver and Marge Novak of Utah; and numerous cousins. Bill's professional contributions, wonderful humor, beautiful music, and ability to love and accept others will live on in the hearts and minds of those who were fortunate enough to know him. A Memorial Service to celebrate Bill's life will be held at the Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Home at 911 Porter Avenue in Ocean Springs, MS, at 1:00 p.m. on June 26, 2010. Visitation for family and friends will begin at noon.