Dr. Kenneth Michael Lynn Obituary (1947

Kenneth Michael Lynn of Bainbridge Island passed away in the early hours of March 10th at Harrison Medical Center due to complications from pancreatic cancer. Ken was surrounded by his friends and family at the time of his death. In his final hours he was honored by many who were touched by his overwhelming generosity and his loving spirit. Ken was born on May 2, 1947 at Harrison Hospital to Lee and Roxanne Crandall. He was raised in Gig Harbor, where he graduated from Peninsula High School in 1965. While in high school, Ken retained a job as a mail sorter and thus began what would be a meteoric rise within the ranks of the USPS over the next 25 years. Ken received a B.A. from the University of Puget Sound in Public Administration. He also received two Master's Degrees, one in Marketing from UCLA and the other in Psychology from Duke, as well as a doctorate in Business Administration from Northwestern University. Ken became, at age 24, the youngest Postmaster in U.S. history. He served in the positions of Assistant Postmaster General-logistics (Washington D.C.), Regional General Manager (Chicago), District Manager (L.A.), and Postmaster of multiple other cities including Louisville, Kentucky and Seattle, Washington. Following his career with the USPS, Ken worked with non-profit agencies as a consultant to retain government contracts. These agencies aided in the employment of disabled workers. In 1995 he received the Outstanding Performance Award from Vice President Al Gore and the National Quality Institute. From 1973 to 1997, Dr. Lynn taught at City University, Chapman University, UCLA, the University of Louisville, the University of Washington, and GSA/Graduate School USDA. Ken was known for his selfless giving to his employees and special-needs organizations. For the last several years he was a benefactor in an effort to preserve today's Native American history through photography. This effort is documented at heritagephoto-graphics.com. He in someway touched over forty First Nation bands or tribes. Ken is survived by wife Angie Lynn, seven children and seven grand-children. He is also survived by his mother Roxanne Pace and sister Pat Marshall both of Bainbridge Island, and his brother Robert Crandall of Auburn. A celebration of his life will be held at Life Christian Church in Tacoma on March 28th at 1 p.m. All who were touched by his life are welcome. A complete biography is available to view at www.caringbridge.org/visit/kennethlynn. Donations for the Kenneth Lynn Memorial Fund are being accepted at any Bank of America branch.