Lynne Rummel

Lynne Hartshorn Rummel, age 83, passed away peacefully December 20, 2022, following a week in TRU Community hospice care at the Katherine and Charles Hover Green Houses, and attended by her husband, her children and her grandchildren. Lynne was born in Ft. Collins, Colorado, eldest daughter of Fred H. Hartshorn, MD and Beverly Rudd. At age 4, she and her family moved to Denver, where her father practiced orthopedic medicine and her mother was a homemaker. She attended Steck Elementary, Gove Junior High and East High Schools. She was an avid skier and racer, joining the Eskimo Ski Club and riding the ski train to Winter Park every weekend during ski season. In addition to his private practice, her father was an official orthopedist for the Union Pacific Railroad, which afforded his family a free pass on the UP. Upon graduation, Lynne rode the train to Tacoma, WA, where she enrolled in the College (later University) of Puget Sound's occupational therapy program. She soon realized that her main interests were biochemistry and hematology, so she left OT and ultimately got her BS degree in Medical Technology in 1961. She met the love of her life, Jack Rummel, in a UPS chemistry lab, where he was following a pre-dentistry curriculum. Following graduation, they moved to Portland, Oregon where Jack attended the University of Oregon Dental School and Lynne worked as a Med Tech in a local hospital. They were married in 1962. By this time, war clouds were gathering in Viet Nam, and rather than risk being drafted Jack joined the Army Dental Corps for 3 years. They were stationed in Germany and their two children, Gretchen Diane and Thomas Mark, were born there. That assignment proved pivotal, for it sparked their life-long love of foreign travel. Blessed with 30 days of leave time each year, they used it to visit virtually every country in Western Europe. After his discharge, they settled in Boulder. Lynne taught skiing in Winter Park's Blind Skier Program; pursued her passion for knitting and was a regular participant at the Longmont Yarn Shoppe's weekly gatherings; and was active in the Boulder Unitarian Church. She was a volunteer for the Red Cross and traveled to various emergency assignments. She also volunteered through Rotary on medical visits to Venezuela, Nepal and Guatemala. She made several extended visits to Guatemala (her sister Sue lives there) which deepened her love for the country and its people. She was a member of Longmont Rotary and was active in Rotary's Youth Exchange Program, having hosted six foreign students in her home. Following Jack's 2002 retirement and her brush with lymphoma (successfully treated), they began to travel again in earnest and, between the two of them, managed to increase their number of countries visited to 66. Lynne is survived by her husband of over 60 years, their two children, and five grandchildren, Paige Dixon Halliday (John), Dylan Rummel, Laura Dixon, Austin Rummel and Amanda Dixon, as well as her sisters, Sue Patterson and Catherine Hartshorn. A celebration of life will be scheduled early in 2023. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to TRU Community Care hospice, the Katherine & Charles Hover Green Houses, or the charity of your choice.