A beautiful soul has left this earth. Lyn Ward, aged 81, originally from Chicago, Illinois, but for many years a faithful resident of Plymouth, Indiana, entered the world on May 25, 1943 and left it peacefully on Friday, December 27, 2024.
Lyn was born Linda Joyce Robertson. After the tragic death of her father, Clarence Robertson, she was raised by her late parents, Mildred Ward, and her adoptive father, A. D. Ward. She is survived by her blended family: Patricia (Dan) Veller, Paula (Garry) Rossino, Denise Ward, all of Illinois, James (Barb Flowers) Ward of Washington state, Linda Osmundson of Colorado, and stepdaughters Ariana (Robert Dickau) Nikitas of Illinois, and Margot (Antonio Lodico) Nikitas of Pennsylvania. She was also blessed with many nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews. She leaves behind a great many friends in Plymouth who all benefited from her magnanimous friendship and love and whom she deeply loved. We are grateful for the members of the four musketeers: Bridget Potter, Kim Lawrence, and Shelley Moore who, with Lyn, became her Plymouth family.
In addition to her parents, Lyn was predeceased by her husband, Jerry Nikitas, her brother, Allen Dee Ward of Texas, and her brother-in-law, Robert Osmundson of Colorado, as well as many aunts and uncles.
Lyn spent more than fifty years of her life in Chicago and moved to Plymouth with her husband, Jerry, in the late 90’s. She became a fixture in and around Plymouth, amassing a large number of friends and acquaintances. She dedicated her life to volunteering in the many community service organizations in Plymouth and Marshall County, and to St. Thomas Episcopal Church where she regularly attended services. Blessed with a beautiful alto voice, she loved to sing in the church choir.
Lyn was a host member of the Kiwanis Club, an executive assistant at the United Way, lent her time and energy to the planning committee for the restoration of the Rees Theater, volunteered for the Heartland Art Center, served tacos for many summers in Chicago to raise money for the Misericordia Home for Mercy, worked tirelessly for the Democratic Party and the Marshall County Humane Society, dedicated hours of her time to help people register to vote, drove voters to the polls on election day, and volunteered in other ways too numerous to mention.
After receiving her degree from Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Lyn became a dedicated and passionate teacher in Chicago, Illinois, where she taught students in grades four through eight during the school year at Lawrence Upper Grade Center, Disney Magnet School, and Hawthorne Scholastic Academy. Over the summer she taught preschoolers in the Head Start program.
Lyn was a voracious reader as well as a gifted writer in her own right. She wrote a column for the Pilot News, and she was a member of as many as four book clubs at a time. She was a fixture at the local library so often she could have simply set up a cot. There was hardly a time when she wasn’t in the beginning, middle, or end of more than one book and as a result, she was incredibly knowledgeable about many subjects and smart as a whip. She worked toward her doctorate in education by completing all of the work required with the single exception of that nasty requirement to produce a dissertation. She was too busy teaching, reading and volunteering.
Despite the time dedicated to her many other pursuits, Lyn took time to travel, ski, sail, and take flying lessons. She traveled with friends to Europe and around the United States and its territories. A number of trips were taken with a close group of friends known collectively as the Milwaukee Five. She was a member of the ski patrol (yes, there are ski hills around Illinois and Wisconsin!), a member of a yacht club in Chicago with whom she regularly crewed on sailboats in Lake Michigan. She also took flying lessons for a time but fell short of earning a pilot’s license. Too busy teaching, reading, volunteering, crewing, and skiing.
Lyn will be remembered most for her caring nature, her crisp one-liners, her dedication to service and to her church. Plymouth may have been the best thing that happened to her. She loved everyone and everything in Plymouth without condition, earned her place in everyone’s hearts, and left her many friends and family members with cherished memories of a selfless life in the place she loved.
Lyn’s memory will be honored on Friday, January 10th, at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 400 N Center Street, Plymouth, Indiana. Visitation will be from 10AM – 12PM. A service of Christian Burial and Remembrance will be held at 12PM with a luncheon to follow at the church. The service will be streamed on St. Thomas’s facebook page: stthomasplymouth.
In lieu of flowers donations may be directed to Greyhound Angels Greyhound Adoption at greytangels.org or a charity of your choice.
Condolences can be left for the family at www.johnson-danielson.com
