Today, it will be 3 years since the passing of Kh. Lynn Wilson, wife of Father Wayne Wilson of St. Barnabas Church in Costa Mesa, CA. She was a very special woman. Especially, to me.
I met Kh. Lynn in 2003. The first thought I had when I met her was how beautiful she was. She was a very feminine woman who didn’t shy away from pretty things like her charm bracelets, which her God children played with as they stood with her waiting for communion.
And the color of her long skirts which I tried to emulate in my own wardrobe.
She had this long, lovely gray hair that literally sparkled in the sunlight. However, it was her smile that pulled me in. Her smile said it all. She loved life. She loved her life. She loved being what God intended her to be. She was a welcoming presence and, frankly, I don’t think I was ever more than two feet away from her the entire 10 years I attended that parish.
I worked for Lynn in the bookstore, served with her when our bishop was there, arranged flowers on occasion and just did whatever needed to be done. I had no asperations to be on the parish counsel or dictate anything, I just wanted to walk beside her. She had that affect on people.
I remember my first Pascha. I had no idea what to expect. It was pouring down rain when she told me we would be going outside to circle the building. I looked at her in disbelief! Her eyes danced as she said to me, “Gail, this is Pascha. Pascha doesn’t stop for the rain!” So we linked arms and stepped out into the downpour. We laughed as we held each other up, slipping and sliding in the process. It was the first time I realized that the Church’s traditions were non-negotiable.
Lynn was my teacher.
Because we were an Antiochian parish not every woman wore a head covering and I was one of them. But she would put on hers whenever she approached the chalice. I did the same and do the same today.
It wasn’t until after she passed that I realized how much a part of that parish she was. Father Wayne said to me as I embraced him at her funeral, “What are we going to do without her?” I didn’t know. I had no answer. I still have no answer.
All I know is that Kh. Lynn Wilson was special.
Please join me in saying the Trisagion prayers on the third anniversary of her passing. May her memory be eternal.
Mrs. M
Memory Eternal
She was a sweet person: Memory Eternal!
Her soul shall dwell with the blessed.
Memory eternal!!!
Memory Eternal!
May the mercy and sustaining providence heal Fr. Wayne who’s heart has been ripped in half. May his heart and the hearts of all who have lost our spouses be made whole as we pray for the salvation of the souls who have departed this life to a place of brightness, a place of verdure, a place of repose where all sickness, sorrow and sighing have fled away in the sure and , CERTAIN hope of the Ressurection unto life eternal. Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and save us.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God.
This is beautiful, Michael. You really have a way with words.
Gail, I cannot take any credit for the words. They are the words of the Church and as a non-Orthodox co-worker of a friend remarked leaving the funeral of a dear friend of mine. “I never been to a funeral like that before. They DO something. ”
I lost my dear wife 15 years ago. It 8s exactly like having half one’s heart ripped out.
Kh. Lynn has been delivered in the loving embrace of Jesus and her guardian angel.
No doubt her memory is eternal. The scared piece of my heart I have left goes out to Fr Wayne and all those still here who loved her.
I have fond memories of her at both Saint Barnabas and cooking for the homeless in the kitchen at St. Pauls. She and her husband were and are wonderful people.
Incredible people.
Kh. Lynn was my mom’s best friend. The two of them always working on the next thing for our parish, St. Barnabas. She never uttered a negative word the entire 25+ years we knew her. Her lips always had the most positive things to say about people. I miss her so much. Fr. Wayne misses her so much! The entire parish misses her. We were touched by a true angel. May Her Memory Forever Be Eternal!
This was lovely, Erin, and everything you said was absolutely true. Everyone who knew her was “touched by an angel.”
I received this from one of my long time friends at St Barnabas. Mike is her husband whom we lost a few years ago.
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Fr. Wayne forwarded your tribute to Kh Lynn to me. It was very lovely. You have a wonderful way with words.
Kh Lynn is the first person I started talking to when I was fed up with Protestantism. We home schooled together and she was a quiet example of an Orthodox Christian and just drew me in. I had the privilege of staying at the Wilson’s for a week, the month before her passing. What a blessed time we had as we talked about her impending death into the wee hours of the night.
In a two month span, I had been to California four times.
I even walked into her room as she took her last breath.
Mike came out three of those times.
I believe it’s a very sacred time to be with those who are actively dying. Glory to God for all things.
Please feel free to share any portion of what I wrote to you.