I first met Lynnette at Indian Valley campground on the Yuba River. We were at the swimming hole and we were both 12 years old. She was wearing a two-piece yellow and white checkered bathing suit and I still remember that like it was yesterday. Every year our families went up there and so in 1966 we became closer we went together for a year and then when I turned 18 and Lynnette was 18. We got married.I loved her with all my heart and we divorced and 78 I think and in Lynnette’s words we were lifetime friends and I still miss her. Thank you, Steven Allen.

I first met Lynnette when we both worked at the Oakland Tribune in the early 1980's. A co-worker knew both Lynnette and I had horses and thought we should meet. A life-altering moment! I recall our first meeting like it was yesterday, at a horse arena, of course.

 Lynnette immediately struck me as beautiful, straightforward, and as the consummate horse woman she was.  By the end of that day I had agreed to help with her horse Levi...little knowing that was the first of many horses I would help with, and rides we would do together from the Oakland Hills, to Pt Reyes, and the Sierra foothills. 

Lynnette wasn't just about horses, though! So many memories of she and her friend, Janet, line dancing and getting up to all sorts of mischief, always a hoot 'n a holler wherever she went. 😉 

But, without a doubt, the quality I admired most in Lynnette was her intellectual and emotional honesty. No matter how tough the situation personally, Lynnette always did what was best for herself to stay emotionally and physically healthy and independent. A rare and difficult thing. So honest.

Miss you Lynnette, and love you always. Ride and smile forever! ❤️

Aunt Lynnette taught me to ride horses at a very young age.  The first and only time a horse bucked me off, she checked to make sure I was OK, then told me to get back on. I was scared, but still did it: I had a bigger fear of disappointing Aunt Lynnette than of getting back in the saddle.  That's was a pivotal moment in learning to face my fears.  

She took me out country western dancing when I turned twenty-one and taught me to two-step. I enjoyed dancing for many years afterward. 

She loved Christmas, the gift exchange being her favorite part. She was generous with her giving and a joy to give to.  Some of my best outfits in junior high were gifts from Aunt Lynnette. 

My youngest daughter, Lane, had a special relationship with Aunt Lynnette as a teen.  She even flew to California to spend time on Lynnettes property, complete with horseback riding. 

Aunt Lynette was beautiful, fun, smart, and brave.  I'll always be grateful for her influence.  I'm so grateful God blessed me with her.