21-year-old Blaine grad who died in car crash remembered as curious, sweet

A 21-year-old Blaine High School graduate died in a car crash near Lynden on September 26, according to Washington State Patrol.

Liam Lyons was driving east on State Route 544 in a blue 2014 Toyota Prius. At 11:28 p.m., the Prius veered off the road near mile marker 1, just south of Wiser Lake near Lynden, and struck a tree. Liam Lyons, who was wearing a seatbelt and had no passengers, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

The crash remains under investigation, said Heather Axtman, state patrol public information officer.

“At this point we really have no idea why [Lyons] left the roadway. Drugs or alcohol are not suspected whatsoever,” she said, adding that state patrol didn’t find signs of braking. “It’s an overall extremely sad situation and devastating for family and friends. We are actively investigating to see what happened in that vehicle.”

Loved ones described Liam Lyons, a 2018 BHS graduate, as a curious, intelligent person who was close with a tight-knit group of friends.

“Liam was well-liked and sweet, but did keep to themselves a lot,” said Liam Lyons’ mother, Jeanie Lyons. Liam Lyons identified as non-binary and didn’t use gendered pronouns, preferring they and them. Liam Lyons was born in Houston. The Lyons family moved to Bolivia a year later and then back to the states to live in Birch Bay five years after that. Liam Lyons learned English and Spanish at the same time growing up in Bolivia, and Jeanie Lyons said living there probably contributed to Liam Lyons’ love for traveling.

Liam Lyons met their partner, Jamie Good, when they were sophomores at Blaine High School. They had the same size feet and would switch shoes for fun. Now, they share a wardrobe, Good said.

“We’ve been inseparable for four years,” she said. “We always knew how to make the other person feel better. They would do anything to make me laugh. We were each other’s whole world.”

Good and Liam Lyons lived together in Bellingham near Western Washington University, where Good is majoring in English. After high school, Liam Lyons studied at the University of Washington for a year and a half before taking time off. The two went on trips that Liam Lyons’ older brother Kieran described as adventurous, including to New Zealand in 2018 and Malaysia in 2019, where they stayed in cheap accommodations and went canoeing and skydiving.

On these travels, Liam Lyons dove right in to the local culture: “While we were in New Zealand, Liam ate 41 crumpets throughout the vacation and we played croquet so much that my grandmother permanently kept the croquet rulebook out because Liam was always trying to foul or disqualify me,” Good said. “They’re really funny and picked up everything very naturally. They’re good at everything.”

The two planned to get married and move to New Zealand, where Good has family and citizenship.

“We just really liked the atmosphere, the weather and the outdoor activities it offered,” she said.

At Blaine High School, Liam Lyons played on the varsity soccer team for four years, ran cross-country and served as team captain senior year, played several brass instruments in band, was involved in knowledge bowl and math team and took 13 AP classes. Liam Lyons was also vegan, an animal rights supporter and a proud member of the LGBTQ community, Good said.

Liam Lyons’ father, Leigh Lyons, described Liam as a quiet leader who led by example. Determination earned Liam Lyons the nickname “Energizer bunny” on the soccer field.

“When it came to sports, they pursued them with incredible persistence; nonstop deliberate persistence was the name of the game,” Leigh Lyons said. “I think what’s amazing is that with very few words Liam could mentor and coach fellow students at school and was regarded as a go-to person for help, especially with STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).”

The Lyons family plans to set up a memorial scholarship in Liam Lyons’ name for graduating Blaine High School students.