Lynn Spitz

Lynn Michael Spitz, 65, of Rochester, NY, passed away on 04/10/2025 from pancreatic cancer. Lynn was born in Rochester, in late 1959 to Shirley (Banks) Lindner and Donald Spitz (deceased). It's so hard to sum up a life well lived and taken too soon, but here's a sampling.

In 1991, Lynn met Thomas Douglas and they moved into a house in Irondequoit where he lived until his death. They got married on September 22, 2011, when it finally became legal to do so.

Lynn grew up in the 19th ward with his younger brother John (predeceased) and frequently talked about playing Fox and Hounds and other games with neighborhood friends.

Lynn graduated from the School Without Walls (1977) and had many fond memories of friends, teachers and his experiences. He kept contact with many of them throughout the years.

He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Bard College in 1981 and began his work career in the research labs at Eastman Dental Center as a lab tech. He loved that job (except for brushing rats' teeth) but lost the position due to funding cuts.

Realizing he needed better opportunities, Lynn studied computer science at Monroe Community College for a few years before finding employment back in biology, working as a lab manager for Dr. David Goldfarb’s lab at the University of Rochester. Some of his work appeared in a well-cited paper by the Goldfarb lab.

After several years there, he had an opportunity to become a software engineer at Millennium Computer Corporation (which became Metamor Software Solutions and then Vanteon Wireless Solutions). He eventually left there to join IDI Billing Solutions. Software engineering was challenging and he mostly enjoyed it.

Eventually he left the industry to start taking care of the house and pursuing other areas of his interest. He spent a lot of time writing stories, three of which got published in anthologies. He also correlated data about stars and star systems into a database. He played in several different role-playing games, such as Dungeons and Dragons, GURPs and Traveller. He was disappointed that he was unable to finish the gaming system he was developing.

He was an avid reader about many subjects. He enjoyed cooking and improving recipes. He was very fond of good chocolate.

He was a member of the Society for the Creative Anachronism (SCA), where he was known for his assistance in the kitchens and his cooking skills. He and Tom were the head cooks for a few feasts in the local SCA chapter (although Tom admits that Lynn was the real head cook).

Lynn was well-known for his Dry humor. During the COVID lockdown, he would post a daily 'blog' of comments on Facebook under the accumulated title "Day # of our captivity" that so many enjoyed. If you were talking to him and saw a twinkle in his eye and a slight smirk, you knew a witty comment was about to be unleashed.

Lynn enjoyed taking walks in nature and could tell you about all sorts of flora that he saw there, and he was quite proud of the garden in their backyard at home. In 2007, he rescued a baby squirrel (named Rocky) and took care of it until it was released back into nature.

Lynn is survived by his husband, Thomas Douglas, his mother, Shirley (Banks) Lindner, his niece, Marie Spitz, his nephews, Anthony Spitz and Alex Spitz, and his step-father, George Lindner.

There will be calling hours on April 17 from 5-7 at the New Comer Funeral home 6 Empire Blvd Rochester, N.Y. (no viewing or service). A burial will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, please give to a charity that you think Lynn might appreciate.