Obituary of Nancy Isobel Lynn

Lynn, Nancy Isobel (nee Baker)

Passed away peacefully at Cedarvale Lodge on May 27th, 2018 at the age of 97 years.  Daughter of the late George Alfred Baker, and the late Elsie Lillian Cockshutt Baker.  She is survived by her brother Donald Baker (Evelyn); children Fraser (Amy), Langton (Carol), and Kathryn Lynn; grandchildren Erika Keel (Callaway), Alexander, Baker, Jackson, James, Elise, and Sarah Lynn; nieces and nephews Alan Wainwright (Pauline), Daphne and Debbie Seagram (Carl), Jackie Loach (Ken); grand nieces and nephews Jennifer, Kim, Susan, David, Megan, Alana, Brittne, Justin, and Rachel.  She was predeceased by her husband James Fraser Lynn; her son Charly Lynn (Sandra); her sister Mary Seagram (David); her brothers Harvey and Langton Baker (Marguerite); her sisters-in-law Shirley Lynn and Barbara Kihlman (Bengt); and her niece Elizabeth Kihlman.

Born and raised in Toronto, she was educated at BSS, Branksome Hall, Elmwood, and Havergal College prior to enrolling at the University of Toronto to pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree.  During WWII, she left university, and joined the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRCNS); commonly known as the Wrens.  Travelling overseas, she was assigned to the British Admiralty's Naval Intelligence Division, where she performed decoding work for the NID in their Japanese section at Bletchley Park, England for the duration of the war.  After the war, Nancy enrolled at McGill University to complete her education, and received her degree in Physiotherapy, which she practiced at Toronto General Hospital during the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Nancy married Jim Lynn in Toronto early in 1951.  In early 1952, a corporate transfer relocated the couple to Vancouver after the birth of their 1st child.  Three more children were born in Vancouver, then in 1961 Jim Lynn was given an opportunity to open up a lumber products sales office in the US for his firm MacMillan Bloedel.  Nancy and her family then moved to Birmingham, Alabama where she spent the next 18 years completing the raising of her 4 children.  Jim's job moved them to Atlanta, Georgia in the late 1970s, then to Dallas, Texas shortly after until his retirement in 1986.  For their retirement years, they chose to purchase and move into the Lake Simcoe home that had been in Nancy's family since the early 1920s.

Some of Nancy Lynn's numerous active affiliations were:  member of Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women; St. Mary's-on-the-Highlands Episcopal Church; Christ Anglican Church; Forest Park Garden Club; English Speaking Union; Junior League; Charter Member, Eastbourne Golf Club.  She loved gardening, and especially wildflowers.  During the summer you might have spotted her picking Queen Anne's Lace along a roadway.  Nancy also became an early recycler during the 1960s down in Birmingham, collecting bins of bottles and newspapers for the volunteer staffed recycling center there.

Nancy was a great lover of all dogs, but her favorite breed was a pug.  She almost always had one in residence going back to the early 1950s.  She was also quick on the draw with her old analog Kodak snapshot camera.  Nancy probably kept some old film developing companies in business a few extra years with the sheer quantity of pictures, plus copies of those pictures that she produced for her friends and family; complete with detailed notes on the back.

With Nancy's outwardly friendly personality, she made and kept many friends easily in all the cities and towns she lived in during her lifetime.  She loved making new friends as well as meeting with old ones, and was always genuinely interested to hear about their families, their well being, and their accomplishments.  While Nancy could be a bit grumpy in the morning before a sufficiently large quantity of coffee, Nancy always looked at life with a positive attitude; but she also could get a little feisty if her core beliefs were challenged during a conversation.  She was an eternal optimist who loved her extended family as well as keeping track of and knowing every detail of their lives and accomplishments.  She was our family's historian.  Her ability to remember everyone's birthday was legendary, as was her ability to remember the names of so many distant relatives and their sometimes complex connections to her family.  Nancy will be missed and she will also be remembered by many.

A "Celebration of Her Life" memorial service will be held at 12 noon on Saturday, July 28th at Christ Church, 10 Turner Street, Roches Point, Ontario.  Reception to follow at Cayley Hall, adjacent to the church.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made by cheque to the small and historical Anglican country church that she has attended since early childhood - Christ Church, 12 Turner St., PO Box 1066, Roches Point, ON L0E 1P0; or to the charity of your choice.