She was born May 19, 1930 in Berkeley, California, to Margaret King Dye and Walter Brown Dye. Although times were hard in the Great Depression, her early years were graced by hiking and picnicking in the golden, poppy-covered hills with her parents. She was a conservationist by age seven from seeing hikers carry out armloads of poppies — which would wilt within the hour instead of living to cast their seeds for next year’s bloom.

New adventures began when her father, a WW1 vet and naval reservist, was called to active duty in 1940. They moved to the banks of the Severn River, Maryland, where she swam in summer and skated in winter. Life was wonderful at first, but by 1943, most of the young men that she and her family knew had been killed in the war, including Captain Oakland who had taught her to skate on the frozen river. Then, a transfer took her family from east coast to west coast, to Manchester Naval Base across the Puget Sound from Seattle, where Lynn loved to walk along the secluded beach. When the war ended, she returned with her family to beloved Berkeley, where she lived within sight of the beautiful San Francisco Bay and could watch the sun setting over the Golden Gate Bridge. Her love of natural beauty has stayed with her all her life.

From childhood, Lynn loved to draw; money for paper was scarce, so she drew on scratch paper and in the margins of favorite books. She was a natural storyteller, entertaining and teaching her sister and brother, whom she also took care of while her mother taught night school and summer school. She attended UC Berkeley and then art school before marrying in 1950.

Lynn soon turned her talents to raising three children and pursuing her artwork. Today, her oil paintings and pastels are focal points in her children’s homes. She completed her baccalaureate degree in English literature (her other love) and did graduate work. After separating from her husband in 1971, she worked in Marysville and Sacramento, CA., as a Medicaid eligibility worker, where she went the extra mile to ensure that her clients received the services they needed.

Lynn was a gifted teacher and tutored many children as well as her own, taught Sunday School and assisted in Elementary School classrooms. She did volunteer occupational therapy for TB patients, worked in the 60s on fair housing projects, was a docent at the California State Capitol, and volunteered in the 1990s at Catholic family services. She then took her miniature poodle to visit patients in the hospitals and nursing homes.

Retiring in her 60’s, she home-schooled three of her grandchildren while her daughter, Margaret, attended medical school. Her loving and giving spirit has made her a favorite of her grandchildren.

Lynn continued to draw and paint until in her 80’s, when poor vision forced her to quit. She taught us to love beauty, the beauty in nature and in art, and to cherish the wonder of each day. She shared her love of words and writing, and taught us to love learning. She could beat us in Scrabble and was an incredible editor for her daughter. She lived with Margaret (Peggy) and John Kluthe in South Ogden and was a member of Morgan Valley Christian Church. She is survived by two other children, Don Sutton (Peggy) of S. Jordan, and Alice Sutton (Michael Rainey) of Spartanburg, SC, plus eight grandchildren and nine great grandchildren, scattered across America, from Salem (OR), to Seattle, to Saskatoon, to South Carolina, Virginia, Montana, and Utah! We will miss her.