Lynn Van Ness

Lynn was born October 25, 1959, in Maryland and spent her early life in Berwyn Heights. The family spent two years in Heidelberg, Germany when her father, James Van Ness, was with the University of MD’s overseas division. When Lynn was in ninth grade, the family moved to upstate New York, where Lynn spent the rest of high school. There, she attended St. Lawrence University, majoring in Library Science. In 1981, the Van Ness family moved to Riverton, Wyoming. James Van Ness took a job at Temple Community College in the mid-80’s and the family followed him there soon after.

Lynn worked at various jobs in Austin, Temple, Taylor, and then came back full time to Temple in 2019 to work remotely and support her mother, Nedra, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The latter part of her career was in configuring and supporting the EPIC Electronic Medical Record system for Baylor Scott and White.

She was an early member of the Bluebonnet Quilt Guild in Temple, a Charter Member of the Taylor Blackland Quilt Guild, and a member of the P.E.O. Chapter EW. P.E.O. supports Cottey College in Nevada, Missouri and provides a variety of scholarships for women’s education. Lynn was a parishioner at Christ Episcopal Church in Temple.

Lynn was kind, creative, crafty, and thoughtful. She loved learning for its own sake. In addition to quilting and reading, she found joy in cooking, baking and trying new foods, especially from international cuisines. She always made sure there were gummy bears at Christmas — a small, beloved tradition leftover from the family’s time in Germany. She was curious and knowledgeable in many subjects, thanks to her background in library science and the influence of literary parents.

Lynn was preceded in death by her mother, Nedra Tracy Van Ness; her father, James Samuel Van Ness; and her brother, Paul Van Ness.

She is survived by her cousins: Leslie Tracy, her son, Jacob; Lorne Tracy, his wife Christie; Neal Tracy, his wife Ashley; Eric Tracy, his wife Iju; and Cheryl Van Ness MacBride, her husband Jay, and their children Kristin Wauson, husband Nick, and their children Lucas and Tobias Wauson; Mark Van Ness; Kevin MacBride; and Clayton MacBride. Her Aunts, Lynne Tracy and Beverly Tracy.

Thank you to all who loved and shared life with Lynn. Her quilting guild members from Taylor and Temple brought her great joy. We are so grateful to her neighbors Bill Shaffell and Becky Smart for looking after her, gathering mail and handling household tasks. She was a lover of education and so enjoyed her volunteer work with the POE group. Thank you to her church family for your love, support and prayers.