Add a Memory
Send Flowers
Make a Donation
Helen "Lynn" Eugenia Bredt
Helen "Lynn" Eugenia Bredt
Obituary
Guest Book
Helen Bredt Obituary
6 Entries
Askel Solberg
July 15, 2020
True, infectious laughter is something that cannot be faked. It simply invades your mind and no amount of willpower can suppress it until you laugh in kind. My grandmother had an infectious laugh. After replaying the decades of my life internally over the past several days, I've come to realize a heartwarming truth: my grandmother's infectious laugh is what seeded my own addiction to laughter.
Lynn Bredt's laugh was unmistakable. It could be discerned with certainty from any distance, just like that of her late husband, Jack. Lynn and Jack Bredt passed their laughs on to their children, my mother not least of all, through years of warm, authentic love. I don't remember whose laugh I heard first as an infant. While my father and mother both love to laugh together, I don't think my father would argue that my mother's laugh has a unique way of infecting a room. With the first laughter I ever heard likely being that of my parents, it became obvious to me early in life that a person's laugh is largely inherited. With my mother and her siblings, there is an undeniable resemblance to my grandmother's laugh, which also had a unique way of infecting a room.
One of my earliest memories of Lynn (Grammy, as I called her) is just her laughter. Mind you, my brother and I were toddlers, crawling over her like ants in a fierce attempt to tickle her to death, but we got what we were looking for the sound of her laugh. The more she laughed, the more we tickled. We were addicted to that sound.
Nearly every notable memory I have of my grandmother contains her pure, genuine laughter. She laughed heartily when my brother and I unwrapped plastic lightsabers and dueled on Christmas morning at her and Jack's condo. She laughed loudly when she greeted my brother and I after we departed our first ever plane ride without our parents, as we recounted our airborne adventures and the whimsy of our flight staff. Her laugh was so infectious that I could even hear it just by looking at a photograph of an event that I wasn't even alive to witness The Solheim music festival. It is perhaps one of my favorite photographs of all time: Lynn and my mother, Jackie, are both wearing Traces shirts (Traces was my father's righteous jazz group before I was born), and both of their mouths are wide open, bodies convulsed, arms around each other's waists, eyes tearing up with laughter. I can't imagine what was so funny, but I can hear their laughs, which in turn has made me laugh every time I've looked at that photograph. That is true infectious laughter. It transcends time, distance and I suppose, even dimensions. Much like love.
Family gatherings at Bredt households were dominated by the sound of group laughter. The sound of a collective Bredt laugh could overcome the engines of a jumbo jet, yet Lynn's laugh always had a way of standing out. Once upon a time there was a very comedic commercial, popular in the 90's, which advertised Grey Poupon mustard. I didn't entirely catch the joke of the commercial at the time, but my mother's ensuing laughter every time it aired told me there was humor in it. One day in the mid-late 90's, driving through the streets of Cleveland on our return from an event I can't specifically recall, the car in which I rode pulled up next to the one containing my grandmother, at a stop light. As if sent via divine intervention, the Grey Poupon mustard commercial popped into my head. I rolled down my backseat window and motioned to my grandmother for her to roll down her window as well. I stuck my head out of our car and said dryly, pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon? The sound of laughter that resulted in that moment was just what I was looking for. I didn't care so much about being funny, I just wanted to hear my grandmother laugh.
There are far too many cherished memories of Lynn Bredt to fit onto this page, so I'll finish by simply saying that her laugh will be with me forever. Her laugh became my mother's laugh, and my mother's laugh became my laugh. Every time I find something funny, I'll know that Lynn would have found it funny, too. Every time I laugh, I'll hear a little bit of Lynn's laugh, too one that made others laugh simply because they heard it. For a keepsake like that, I am and will be eternally grateful. I love you, Grandma.
Robert Russell
July 14, 2020
We so enjoyed our (too infrequent) get-togethers with Lynn and her wonderful family. She will be missed by so many. Our family sends sympathy and love to hers.
Bob Russell (husband of the late Lelia Roberts Russell, a first cousin of Jack Bredt), and family.
Ron Longoria
July 14, 2020
May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow. I will miss the great conversations I have had with Lynn over the last 40 years.
Rita Bennett
July 12, 2020
Another Bridge player in heaven. Lynn was a most caring person, and always most caring and welcoming to me. She will be missed by so many.
How you can show support
Send flowers
Consider sending flowers.
Add photos
Share their life with photo memories.
Plant trees
Honor them by planting trees in their memory.
Follow this page
Get email updates whenever changes are made.
Donate in Memory
Make a donation in memory of your loved one.
Share this page
Invite other friends and family to visit the page.
Beth johnson
July 12, 2020
Helen you will be missed and Jo your daughter will have her moments but I Believe she will be a stronger person because of your life lessons of being a good person were handed over to her and the family. Rest now and watch over us we all need it. The Johnson family
Nora McNamara
July 11, 2020
Please accept my deepest sympathy. I hope your memories will help you through this difficult time. Sincerely,
Showing 1 - 6 of 6 results
21369 Center Ridge Road, Fairview Park, OH 44116
Make a Donation
in Helen Bredt's name
How to support Helen's loved ones
Honor a beloved veteran with a special tribute of ‘Taps’ at the National WWI Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The nightly ceremony in Washington, D.C. will be dedicated in honor of your loved one on the day of your choosing.
Read more
Should I Send Sympathy Flowers?
What kind of arrangement is appropriate, where should you send it, and when should you send an alternative?
Read more
What Should I Write in a Sympathy Card?
We'll help you find the right words to comfort your family member or loved one during this difficult time.
Read moreResources to help you cope with loss
Estate Settlement Guide
If you’re in charge of handling the affairs for a recently deceased loved one, this guide offers a helpful checklist.
Read more
Obituaries, grief & privacy: Legacy’s news editor on NPR podcast
Legacy's Linnea Crowther discusses how families talk about causes of death in the obituaries they write.
Read more
The Five Stages of Grief
They're not a map to follow, but simply a description of what people commonly feel.
Read moreWays to honor Helen Bredt's life and legacy
Obituary Examples
You may find these well-written obituary examples helpful as you write about your own family.
Read more
Obituary Templates – Customizable Examples and Samples
These free blank templates make writing an obituary faster and easier.
Read more
How Do I Write a Eulogy?
Some basic help and starters when you have to write a tribute to someone you love.
Read more
Sponsored