Lyn Paul Relph

Lyn Paul Relph (B. April 13, 1940; D. October 10, 2024)
Lyn Paul Relph, 84, born April 13, 1940, esteemed scholar, husband, father, professor
of English, photographer, humanitarian, writer, story-teller, musician, historian, world-
traveler, and all-around Renaissance man, died with his wife Kate Hulbert, son John,
and daughter Linda by his side, on Thursday, October 10, 2024, in Tucson, Arizona,
after a short battle with cancer.
Lyn was born in Los Angeles to Harry and Margherita Relph. He grew up in Huntington
Park, California - as he put it, "smalltown America only six miles from Los Angeles City
Hall." Lyn loved the beach and was a surfer. When he was about 17, he fell off a cliff
near the beach and broke his left wrist which caused him a bit of discomfort throughout
his life. He graduated from Mount Carmel High School (Catholic Boys School) before
earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in English at University of Notre Dame in 1961. He
went back home to California, and married Gloria Sherno later that year. He taught at
Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino, California, and earned a Ph.D. from UCLA in
1966, specializing in 18th Century British Literature. Lyn and Gloria and their two
children moved to Chico, California, where Lyn became a professor of English at
California State University, Chico, where he worked from 1966 until he retired in 1995.
In 1972, Lyn married Barbara McConnell and they bought a fixer-upper house in Chico,
a big one at the corner of Ninth and Poplar - the brick house with the pointed roof and
the round arched front door - and that door was always open for friends, former
students, his kids' friends, the odd party, Sundays for football games and backgammon,
weary travelers who were back in town, always a beer in the fridge and something to
eat in the pantry. Parties always included music, and once his house was even the site
of an "after-party" for the internationally known band Boys of the Lough.
While at Chico State he taught a wide variety of courses, for a time even serving as
Head of the Technical Writing Program. It was during his tenure there that he had the
opportunity to participate in an exchange program with St. Patrick's College in Dublin,
Ireland. He took his whole family to Ireland for nearly a full year of August 1979 - June
1980. This experience would change the trajectory of not only his life, but the lives of his
family. Lyn's home was always filled with books, music, art, more books, more music -
his kids were given the opportunity and encouraged to learn musical instruments, and
by 1978 were playing in a family band. Following the year in Ireland, Lyn and his family
began to play and perform traditional Irish music under the name Divil's Dream. It may
be possible to trace today's popularity of Irish music in Chico back to the Relphs and
that 1979 trip to Ireland. The family also made regular pilgrimages to Weiser, Idaho, for
the National Oldtime Fiddling Championships and Festival until the late 80s.
During his time in Chico, Lyn always enjoyed camping (used to go at least twice a year
to camp on private land near Lassen Park), and tinkering with his various cars. He had
a 1959 Volkswagen bus which would take up much of his summers for major
maintenance. One of his well-worn books was titled "How to Keep Your Volkswagen
Alive: A Manual of Step by Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot" by John Muir.
Throughout the 1970s and 80s Lyn's carport housed a wide variety of vehicles: the old
VW Bus, a VW Squareback, an International Travel-All, a big black boat of a Buick
Electra (suicide doors and all), a soft-top convertible MGA, and later, even a sensible
import station wagon.
Lyn married Kate Hulbert in 1991, and in 1995 when he retired, they moved to Douglas
City, California. Not long after, they made the move to Tucson, Arizona, where they had
a great view of the Sonora Desert in southern Arizona. Over the years he became a
talented photographer, and had a thriving business printing and selling his photos and
his wife Kate's paintings as framed art and greeting cards. Some of Lyn's greatest
photos came from the wildlife and vistas of the areas surrounding Tucson. Lyn's love of
the arts kept him busy: he was always a writer and published numerous literary works.
He loved playing old-timey traditional folk music and songs on mandolin and banjo.
Lyn loved to travel. After retiring to Tucson, he and Kate made regular trips to Key West,
Florida, to visit her mother, to Hawaii, to Oceanside, California, to Ashland, Oregon, for
the Shakespeare Festival, and other destinations in the American West. He and Kate
also were able to travel to Ireland, Italy, and other European destinations. Their travels
gave him endless subject matter for his photography, and much of the content for his
printed art and greeting cards came from those trips.
Lyn loved wordplay, especially Spoonerisms (which he called "Roonerspisms"). One of
Lyn's legacies, known only to friends and family, was his classic spin on the English
language phrase, when he uttered the timeless words, "You're Only One Yunx."
Lyn is survived by his older brother Bill, his wife Kate, his son John (Jennie) of
Bethesda, Maryland, his daughter Linda of Carrollton, Texas, his step-daughter Dawn
(Stephen) of Chico, California, his granddaughter Sophie, as well as numerous nieces
and nephews. Lyn chose a "Green Burial," and is now resting at Joshua Tree Memorial
Park in Joshua Tree, California.
Charitable donations in his name can go to the Freedom From Religion Foundation, or
to your local hunger relief organizations.