In 1881 he became a senior member of his father's investment firm, which eventually became Hilliard Lyons.
[citation needed] He served as president of the Louisville Stock Exchange for three years prior to 1907.
[1] He served on Louisville's common council representing the fifth ward in the lower board.
They had four children: Clay, Mrs. Owsley Brown, W. L. Lyons Jr. and Mary.
[1] Lyons died on June 2, 1911, at the Pennoyer Sanitarium in Kenosha, Wisconsin.