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Lynn Park Obituary
Lynn Park, 68, of San Leandro, CA, died April 22, 2013. The only child of Franklin and Clara Park, Lynn was born in Jefferson City, TN. She died of complications while convalescing from a bone fracture, which was the result of osteogenesis imperfecta.
Lynn earned a BA in Humanities from Eckerd College in 1965; an MA in Communications from Arizona State University in 1991; and an MDiv from San Francisco Theological Seminary in 1996.
Professionally, she was an editor, but Lynn also once worked as a photographer at a country club in Tucson, and she was a devoted hospital chaplain while interning for her MDiv degree.
Lynn was a poet and a painter. She "came home" to photography in 2006 and created a large and startlingly original body of work. Her vision, skewed to her line of sight from her wheelchair, was unique, spiritual, true, and precise in capturing unexpected detail.
Both Christian and Buddhist, Lynn had a fierce, "bi-chambered" heart. She once wrote, "Consider yourself blessed: The stones that break your bones will build the altar of your love." Lately, Lynn spoke joyfully of her "resurrection body." She believed her often-broken and steadfastly healed bones would one day be called home.
Lynn was loved and loving. She spoke directly, courageously, honestly, sometimes loudly, with a homey Southern cadence. She listened with insight and generosity. Her independence and resilience were a given. She had a hearty smile, terrific hats, and a mischievous, sly wit. She was known to dance with her wheelchair. Today she is surely dancing without it, and she's hollering, "Hot dayum."
Lynn is survived by a cousin, Gale Park of Knoxville, TN; other extended family; her church community at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church; and a host of friends.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 11, 2013 at 3pm at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church, 500 DeHaro Street, San Francisco, CA 94107. All are welcome.
Donations to honor Lynn Park may be made to St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church, with the notation "Pastoral Care Fund," and mailed to the above address.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Lynn Park
Kristina Krause
September 28, 2013
When I was just beginning to post shots I took with my Kodak point-and-shoot on Flickr, Lynn was the first one to offer a fledgling photographer encouragement and advice. I will always be immeasurably grateful to her for that. Her generous, creative spirit has been such an inspiration to me. She helped me to see the world differently.
My heart is heavy, but I know you are in a better place, free to dance, free to fly.
Grant Simon Rogers
September 16, 2013
"The Gods Are Walking the Earth" x x x x x x
September 6, 2013
REST IN PEACE SWEET FRIEND!
John Malley
May 28, 2013
Lynn, what a wonderful 'eye' you had combined with a quirky sense of humour, wonderful, will miss you
Chad Manderscheid
May 16, 2013
Love you Lynn, dear friend and Sangha sister. Give Larry a big hug for me. Chad
Janet Ference
May 4, 2013
Lynn, you wrote that you believed, "It's never too late to have a wild and gracious future." I believe, even in death, that's true. Go wild, girl.
See you in the bye and bye, Dear Heart.
David Scull
May 3, 2013
Dearest Lynn,
I'll miss your bright smile and cheery greeting but I'm so happy for you, that you can finally dance without your chair.
Memory Eternal
Will Byrd
May 3, 2013
I was thinking of Lynn this morning and of how she chose to define her magnificent self .. through eyes that saw what so few of us ever notice, and through a heart of gracious love that just seemed to know how to reach into hearts with a welcoming embrace. My second Sunday at St. Gregory's, Lynn came up to greet me and introduce herself. I told her how glad I was to have found such a great and unique place. Her response was a mischievous twinkle in her eye and a smile and ... "Well Hot Damn!" LOVE Lynn, and so grateful that I had the opportunity to know her. See you one day soon Dear Heart.
AnnaMarie
May 3, 2013
I will always remember and treasure Lynn leading us in the dance, and her courageous frankness. And her manicures!
Tonia Macneil
May 3, 2013
Lynn, memories of you come up every day, unbidden. Your spirit always transcended your broken body, then and now. Thank you for the gift you made of your life.
Jon Spangler
May 2, 2013
Lynn was a tremendously gifted artist and writer, and was able to "see" amazing new truth in the surroundings that most of us miss or ignore out of our blindness.
I loved and admired her original poetry, blog posts, play, and other writings as much as her visual art, but her latest passion was her photography, which was incredibly insightful.
Lynn once owned and drove a 1960s Mustang convertible—with her wheelchair folded up behind the driver's seat. She still had the license plate frame from that car in her bedroom. It read, “Redheads like to go topless.”
I will never forget how hard it was for her to ask for help, since she was forced to accept assistance most of her life for so many daily tasks. I have felt honored many times that she has asked me to assist her, despite my own stubbornness in offering her advice on how she "should" do things.
Lynn LOVED having brightly colored fingernails and toenails. I want to paint my toenails bright yellow for her memorial--preferably using the same color with which I painted her toenails--at her request--a few years ago. This was while she was recuperating the previous time she had fallen and broken several bones. (Lynn asked me to do it and trusted me even though it was the first time I had ever painted anyone's toenails.)
Lynn told many of us—and told us repeatedly—that she was ready to "go home to Jesus," despite knowing that many of us wanted and needed more of her insights and inspirational visions.
I guess now we will all have to do what Lynn did so well in order to see what she saw, write the way she wrote, and share those truths. Now we will have to open up our own eyes to the world around us and share what we see if we really look and see what is there, as she did so very, very well.
May you rest in peace and rise in glory, Dear Heart. We'll take care of "Her Highness," Patches the cat, for you until you two can be together again.
May 2, 2013
Dear Lynn,
I will always remember your enthusiasm, courage and laughter!
Bless you,
Anna Maria
Kelly Richwood
May 2, 2013
"The bridge is love." I can think of a hundred stories and I feel too sad to tell them. She'd scold me for that.
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