Norma Duffield Stong "Duffy" Lyon (July 29, 1929 – June 26, 2011) was an American farmer and artist nicknamed The Butter Cow Lady. She was known for creating elaborate

butter sculpture Butter sculptures are three-dimensional works of art created with butter, a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. The works often depict animals, people, buildings and other objects. They are best known as attra ...

s at the

Iowa State Fair The Iowa State Fair is an annual state fair held in Des Moines, Iowa in August. It began in 1854 and has been held on the Iowa State Fairgrounds since 1886. It is based in the state capital Des Moines, Iowa over an 11 day period in August. With ...

from 1960 until 2006, when she retired. She also created sculptures for other state fairs, as well as commissioned works for celebrities and politicians.

Early years

Lyon was born in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

on July 29, 1929, 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 Philip Duffield Stong (January 27, 1899 – April 26, 1957) was an American author, journalist and Hollywood scenarist. He is best known for the 1932 novel ''State Fair'', which was adapted as a film three times ( 1933, 1945 and 1962) and as a B ...

, wrote the book ''State Fair'', which was later made into three movies and a stage musical. She studied

animal science Animal science is described as "studying the biology of animals that are under the control of humankind". It can also be described as the production and management of farm animals. Historically, the degree was called animal husbandry and the ...

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

, because they did not allow women in their Veterinary Sciences program at the time.Longden, Tom (December 25, 2004)
Lyon, 'Duffy'.
''

Des Moines Register ''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa. History Early period The first newspaper in Des Moines was the ''Iowa Star''. In July 1849, Barlow Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cabin by the junction ...

'' There she trained in sculpture with artist Christian Petersen.

Family

She married Gaylord "Joe" Lyon on July 22, 1950 in

Ames, Iowa Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines in central Iowa. It is best known as the home of Iowa State University (ISU), with leading agriculture, design, engineering, and veterinary medici ...

, and they moved to

Toledo, Iowa Toledo is a city in, and the county seat of, Tama County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,369 at the time of the 2020 census. History Toledo was founded in 1853 as the county seat of Tama County. It was named after Toledo, Ohio. Tole ...

, to run their

dairy farm Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history that ...

, Lyon Jerseys. The couple had nine children.

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 Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...

Peanuts ''Peanuts'' is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ' ...

characters, a

Harley-Davidson Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depressi ...

motorcycle, ''

American Gothic ''American Gothic'' is a 1930 painting by Grant Wood in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Wood was inspired to paint what is now known as the ''American Gothic'' House in Eldon, Iowa, along with "the kind of people efancied shoul ...

'' by

Grant Wood Grant DeVolson Wood (February 13, 1891 February 12, 1942) was an American painter and representative of Regionalism, best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest. He is particularly well known for '' American Gothic'' (193 ...

and

the Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art have been undertaken by artistic masters for centuries, ...

.Huffstutter, P.J. (June 27, 2011)
"Norma 'Duffy' Lyon, queen of the butter cow sculptors, dies at 81."
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' She also made busts of Katie Couric, Matt Lauer,

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

and a cheese bust of

David Letterman David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He hosted late night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982 debut of ''Late Night with David Letterman' ...

. Lyon appeared on '' To Tell the Truth'' in 1963, and was correctly identified as the Butter Cow Lady by two of the panelists, Kitty Carlisle and Tom Poston. She later appeared on ''

Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production company ...

'' with a cow carved from cheese. She was the subject of a 2002 book, ''The Butter Cow Lady'', written by Brenda Mickle.

Death

On June 26, 2011, she died of a stroke in

Marshalltown, Iowa Marshalltown is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Iowa, United States, located along the Iowa River. It is the seat and most populous settlement of Marshall County and the 16th largest city in Iowa, with a population of 27,591 at ...

, age 81. She was survived by a large extended family, including her husband, nine children, 23 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

References

# ↑ # 1 2 3 # ↑ Longden, Tom (December 25, 2004). Lyon, 'Duffy'. ''

'' # 1 2 # ↑ # ↑ Huffstutter, P.J. (June 27, 2011). "Norma 'Duffy' Lyon, queen of the butter cow sculptors, dies at 81." ''

'' # 1 2 # ↑ # ↑ # ↑ Lyon, Valerie (September 24, 2020)
“The Butter Cow Lady’s Christmas: Recipes and Recollections of a Duffy Lyon Christmas”
Amazon POD. # ↑ Acker, Duane (January 12, 2018)

Booktopia. p. 39

External links

Lyon Jerseys family site
*

via American Jersey Cattle Association
The Butter Cow Lady’s Christmas: Recipes and Recollections of a Duffy Lyon Christmas

Iowa State University Lyon Fund
via Iowa State University (ISU) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lyon, Duffy 1929 births 2011 deaths People from Nashville, Tennessee People from Marshall County, Iowa Farmers from Iowa Butter Sculptors from Tennessee Sculptors from Iowa Iowa State University alumni People from Ames, Iowa People from Toledo, Iowa American women farmers 21st-century American women