Death of a Class Widow - Susan Nancy Schuck Lynne - 18th Co.

Susan Nancy Schuck Lynne died of congestive heart failure after a long illness on June 6, 2020 at Gilchrist Hospice in Towson. The former Lutherville resident was 85. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Susan Lynne was part of the first graduating class from Towson

Senior High and attended Dickinson College for two years, completing her education at Johns Hopkins, majoring in English and Current Events. In 1956, she married Donald Mark Lynne whom she met at the Naval Academy; together they celebrated 60 years of marriage. She worked as a bookkeeper in several Baltimore businesses, including twenty years at the Alcazar Hotel (now the Baltimore School for the Arts) and ten years at Morton's Food and Wine Shop. Mrs. Lynne gave back to her community. She and her husband ran an eight-man homeless shelter at Old St. Paul's Church for six years in downtown Baltimore. She made all their dinners, especially at Christmas.

As an active PTA member, Mrs. Lynne chaired money-raising events for her children's schools. Her favorite was the Towsontown Junior High's International Fair, featuring over twenty different countries with accompanying foods, plus school clubs.

Through St. James Episcopal in Monkton, Mrs. Lynne provided hundreds of toys and stuffed animals for underprivileged Ecuadorian children, sent by a mission through non-profit Equadent. In a household with four generations of cooks, Mrs. Lynne and her mother, Marjorie Louise Johnson Schuck, expressed love through food; every holiday feast included family friends and neighborhood children often received a needed breakfast at the Lynne home. For years, Mrs. Lynne swam one and a half miles daily and for eighteen years spent vacations on Marco Island boating and collecting fifty-five types of beach shells that she used to create over one hundred shell lamps as gifts. The Lynnes traveled internationally and visited nearly every state in the country.

Mrs. Lynne was fortunate to become close friends with Paulo Szot, winner of Best Baritone in U.S. in 2016 and the Tony award for the revival of South Pacific, and with Dorothy Gilman, author of Mrs. Pollifax books.

Survivors include three children: Mark, Kimberley, and Jeffrey; a daughter-in-law, Kari-Ann; and two grandchildren, Daniel and Bridget. Her husband, Captain Donald Mark Lynne, died in August 2017.

Her son, Jeffrey Lynne, stated, "Our mother was always a giver. Even to the end, she was writing notes of hope, encouragement, and unconditional love; the best gift she gave us all."

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to St. James Episcopal Church, 3100 Monkton Road, Monkton, MD, 21111 or Gilchrist Hospice Care at www.gilchristcares.org. A memorial service and life celebration is planned for a later date.

Published in Baltimore Sun on Jun. 8, 2020.