C. Lynn Skelton MD

1939 - 2020

C. Lynn Skelton, M.D., died peacefully on April 1, 2020, a week before his 81st birthday. Lynn was born on April 7, 1939 in Prosper, Texas. He was married for 32 years to Carolyn Ames Skelton who passed away in 1993. He is survived by his daughters, Shannon Holtzman (Eric) of New Orleans and Courtney Kleinops (Jim) of Winnetka, Illinois, his grandchildren, Carolyn Holtzman, Larkin Holtzman, Shelby Kosanovich and Carson Kosanovich, and 10 nieces and nephews. His parents, Aubrey and Syble Skelton, and sister, Janell Yarborough, predeceased him. Lynn grew up in Garland, Texas and was the 1957 Garland High School valedictorian. He played on the Garland Owls' football and baseball teams, including the 1956 AAA Texas State Champion football team. An All-State baseball player, Lynn was the first high school student to hit an outside the park home run at Austin's Disch Field during the 1957 State baseball quarterfinals. We know this to be true because he saved the newspaper articles about it. Lynn attended and played baseball for Texas Technological College, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity and graduated with high honors. In 1965, Lynn graduated first in his class from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and received its highest merit award, the Ho Din. Lynn was working at Parkland Hospital when President Kennedy's car arrived and he was later assigned to draw blood from Lee Harvey Oswald. During the Vietnam War, he was a commissioned officer with the U.S. Public Health Service, completing a three-year tour of duty with the cardiology branch of the National Heart & Lung Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. In 1970, the U.S. Public Health Service awarded Lynn the John B. Lane Award for outstanding achievement in medical research. Thereafter, a purported "one-year only" research fellowship at Harvard Medical School/Peter Bent Brigham Hospital turned into a five-year stay in Boston. In 1976, Lynn and his family moved to his beloved New Orleans, where he lived for most of the rest of his life. Lynn was a cardiologist and director of cardiac catheterization for Ochsner, where, in 1980, he performed the Gulf South's first successful coronary angioplasty, an out-patient procedure that removes life-threatening coronary blockage that would otherwise require open heart surgery. From 1988-91, Lynn was a professor of clinical medicine at Cornell University Medical Center and the director of cardiac catheterization at New York Hospital in New York City. After returning to New Orleans, he was an associate clinical professor with LSU Medical School and a member of the cardiology staff of University Hospital and later served as the director of cardiac catheterization of the Medical Center of Louisiana. He was a member of several medical organizations and co-authored more than 40 publications related to cardiovascular disease and treatment. Lynn was also an avid traveler, a history buff, and a mediocre (at best) golf player (albeit not for lack of trying). He loved to ski until he broke his leg in half on Aspen Mountain with Shannon and Eric. Most of all, Lynn loved to eat, drink, and laugh with his friends and family, including weekly lunches at Galatoire's, the Rib Room, and the Bon Ton, drinks at the self-proclaimed "Table of Knowledge," and various shenanigans with the Recess Club, the Net Club, Swing Fiesta, and the "golfing group." The family extends its utmost thanks to Lee Barlow, Marlene Chase, Yul Mitchell and NOCC's entire dining and bar staff for their patience and kindness to Doc during the last few years. A private graveside service was held on April 9. A celebration of Lynn's life will be held at a future date. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Feed the Front Line NOLA (www.feedthefrontlinenola.org), the National World War II Museum (www.nationalww2museum.org), or the Café Reconcile Client Assistance Fund (www.cafereconcile.org/donate).