Lynn Preston Nylund slipped quietly away from family and friends on June 18, 2019 at Celia's House in Medford, Oregon. Lynn had come to accept the inevitability of her death from cancer, as had those closest to her, but still it was a shock when her time to leave arrived. Her absence has left a great void in many lives.

Lynn's life was full and rich. She was a sunny child of California, born April 5, 1938, the granddaughter of two pioneers, one a 19th century sea captain, the other a Justice of the California Supreme Court. She was the eldest daughter of an attorney, John Preston and his wife Elizabeth, who raised her in Pasadena. As an active girl, she loved summers at the family cabin on Bass Lake, and was early attuned to outdoor activities and happy times with friends.

All who met Lynn admired her grace and her fresh, natural beauty. From her earliest years as a wide-eyed and curly-haired cherub, she had a lovely photogenic quality. The camera loved her smile, her long-limbed and lithe form, and her graceful composure. Lynn attended UC Berkeley for two years and was a member of the company of the Pasadena Playhouse for two years. She then worked for a time as a fashion model, with photo features in several magazine.

A sorority sister, Barbara Nylund, introduced Lynn to her younger brother Paul Nylund. Theirs wasn't exactly a whirlwind courtship, but sparks flew, and after a few years of apparently stubborn separateness, the two decided that it was 'meant to be' that they should continue life's adventures together. They married in July 1963 and happily raised a son, Erik, and a daughter, Victoria. The family lived in the Bay Area where Paul was a technical editor and owner of a window fashions company and she was a professional court reporter. When both retired in 1998, Lynn and Paul moved to Ashland, where they began a new phase of life, filled with outdoor activities, educational classes and the joys of grandparenting.

Lynn was not only outwardly attractive, she also had a beautiful soul, a calm and practical demeanor and a kind heart. She was serene, understated, quiet, and at all times ladylike. Yet she could be feisty when riled about bad behaviors, inequity, cruelty to person or animals or when contemplating any number of issues currently troubling our world.

She was always demurely polite, but never boring. She was agreeable and open-minded yet she could be opinionated. She was lively, loved an evening with music, good company, good food, perhaps some dancing or a movie or musical play, or getting a bit zany in costume for a Halloween party (such as the yearly fundraiser by FOTAS, the local animal shelter she supported). Conversely, she also enjoyed nothing more than a quiet evening spent at home with family, when she could devour a well-written mystery novel. She was a voracious reader. She was also a huge fan of the NBA Golden State Warriors, and hated to miss watching their games on TV with her family.

Lynn had a head for words and language, enjoyed knowing a bit of French, and was a whiz at word games and crossword puzzles, also various board games. She liked an occasional hand of penny-ante Black Jack with friends when RV camping. Outside, she loved hiking, skiing and biking. In retirement, she and Paul went pop-up tent camping, and made yearly treks to the family cabin in Montana. They moved on to trailer camping, then to heading down the road on fifth wheel RV trips, with bicycles and Chester, their yellow Lab aboard. Lynn was a brisk walker and often rose early to exercise their beloved dogs. She and Paul liked river and lake kayaking and perhaps best of all, they covered thousands of miles bicycling together and with friends. Travels to places near and far included Canada, France, the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, and Italy. One of the Nylund's great joys has been following the activities and successes of their family, in academics and sports, through high school, college and beyond.

Lynn is survived by her husband of 56 years, Paul Nylund; their son and daughter-in-law, Erik and Jane Nylund of California; their daughter and son-in-law Victoria and Brian Sheadel of Ashland; and several grandchildren. She was predeceased by her parents and her younger sister.

Daily Tidings, August 17, 2019