Saturday, December 31, 2016

Rest in Peace, Ken Lynn

Kenneth Fred Lynn, our friend, neighbor, longtime member of the B7 Ward and the patriarch of his family, passed away quietly in his Bloomington home on Monday, December 26, 2017 with his family at his side after a courageous battle against cancer and Parkinson’s disease.

Born in Mona, UT in the summer of 1933, during the worst year of the Great Depression, Ken was the oldest of six children all who grew up on a farm where they learned the value of hard work and taking responsibility for their actions. 

At the age of 4, Ken accompanied his parents to Salt Lake City, presumably on a shopping trip where – in the big city about 77 miles from home – he became separated from Mom and Dad.  Without hesitation, he walked to the train tracks and began heading south.  About ten miles from where he had “misplaced” his family, he grew tired and was found by a kind-hearted woman who called the police.  Eight hours after he went missing, the youngster and his worried parents were reunited.

After graduation from Juab High School, he took a job as a ballistic meteorologist at Dugway Proving Grounds for one year, then joined the U. S. Army and served two years in Korea.  

After his discharge in 1954, he moved to Phoenix to attend school.  It was in Scottsdale where he chose his career path as a car salesman … and where he met Dorla Dean McFarland, who stood by his side for almost 48 years.  They were married in 1969 and were later sealed in the Manti LDS Temple. 

They then moved to Reno where Ken was general manager of the Ford agency for eight years, during which time he was named #1 Ford dealer in his district in 1974 and again in 1975.  In St. George, he opened and operated Lynn’s Auto Sales for twenty years.  To his friends and customers, Ken was always known as a hardworking, successful and generous man.  Upon his retirement, he had spent 50 years in the car business.

More than anything, Ken loved his family, including 5 children,19 grandchildren, 32 greats and 2 great-greats. His favorite things to do were dancing with his daughter Kendra or giving her horseback rides on his shoulders; classic movies, long road trips; country music (especially Patsy Cline); Disneyland and/or Knott’s Berry Farm; any kind of sports where his children, grandchildren – or BYU - were playing; holidays with the whole family present; family traditions, Christmas Eve parties; backyard bonfires; and Dorla, who he “treasured and made sure she knew it!”

His favorite hobby was golf – especially playing at courses in Branson, MO and Bella Vista, AK - and, for which he won several tournaments and made five holes-in-one in Reno and St. George!

Brother Lynn will be missed among those in his family and the community.  Condolences to Sister Dorla and the rest of the Lynn family.

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