Lynna Joyce Ausburn

Lynna Joyce Ausburn (Burt)

Dr. Lynna J. Ausburn passed away May 23, 2025. The daughter of Richard and Mary Joyce Burt, Dr. Ausburn was born July 18, 1944, in Austin, Texas. She grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma with her parents and sisters, Mary and Peg, and attended Edison High School. Lynna was the star of her high school drama department and loved riding horses. Her acting performances earned her several awards and a Broadway Theatre League drama scholarship to the University of Tulsa (TU). At TU, she was the star of the University theatre, rode show horses, taught riding classes and met the love of her life, Floyd Ausburn. Lynna completed her education with a PhD from the University of Oklahoma and set out with Floyd to Australia for 14 years, where she worked in the technical educational sector as a senior administrator of instructional services and then of institutional planning and curriculum development. She returned to Oklahoma in 1990 and finished her career as a Professor of Occupational Education Studies.

Before leaving Australia Lynna and Floyd spent more than 2 years aboard their 50-foot sailboat Sea Quest exploring the Australian Coral Sea and the Great Barrier Reef with their beloved Cockatoo, Gus. The Ausburns were inseparable partners throughout a life of adventure and research, working in 19 different countries in the field of international economic and workforce development for World Bank, USAID, UNESCO, and the Australian Development Assistance Bureau.

Among Lynna’s favorite activities were cooking, freelance writing, photography and fishing and boating on the Texas Gulf coast. In recent years, she and her 3-year-old Miniature American Shepard, Rocky, spent most of their days curled up together looking out over Lake Keystone and visiting with best friends and family.

Lynna is preceded in death by her husband, Dr. Floyd Ausburn, her parents Richard and Mary Joyce Burt and her sister, Margaret Kohut. She is survived by her sister, Mary Holway, nephew Mike Gillert, nieces Katie Gillert and Laura Holway Apgar, and their children.

Dr. Lynna Ausburn will be laid to rest in Tulsa Memorial Park in a private service.