Captain Donald Mark Lynne, a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, class of 1954, died of liver cancer on August 16th in Augsburg Assisted Living facility in Gwynn Oak. Captain Lynne was 86.

He raised his three children with his beloved wife of sixty years, Susan Schuck Lynne, in a four-generational household in Lutherville and moved to Owings Mills fifteen years ago.

Born in Fargo, North Dakota, Captain Lynne served in the Atlantic fleet and Western Pacific as Engineering Officer and Executive Officer after USNA graduation. He resigned from Regular Navy in 1958 but continued active participation in the Naval Reserve for thirty years. He was Chief Staff Officer of five units, including two Baltimore based destroyer escorts, U.S.S. Darby and U.S.S. Roberts, later rated top NRF ship in 1967. Under Lynne's command, the ships operated in Atlantic and Caribbean waters from Cuba to Newfoundland. Other duties included leading Military Sealift Command units, a tour with the Naval Recruiting District Washington and service as Navy Disaster Preparedness Officer in the Maryland Army National Guard.

He was authorized to wear Surface Warfare and Command at Sea insignia, Navy Commendation Medal, the Recruiting Medal, and the Meritorious Maryland, Army Commendation medals. Captain Lynne also served twenty-two years as a Naval Academy Blue and Gold Officer with a 92% candidate graduation rate. Lt. Stephanie Barnes, one of Lynne's USNA candidates, remembers the Captain as "everything I thought an officer would be: composed, professional, polite, organized, motivating . . .. He inspired me to become a Blue and Gold officer and pass all that along to another link in the chain." Captain Lynne had a distinguished civilian career in military project management with Army Corps of Engineers with two Commander awards. In 1990, he retired and then ran an architectural engineering consulting business. Colonel Bernard Stalmann says Lynne "was the Installation Support Branch Chief within the Engineering Division of the US Army Corps of Engineers Baltimore District, providing much of the interface with the design of military facilities at 27 Army and Air Force installations in the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. The value of this work in the late 1980s was in excess of one billion dollars.

His outstanding personality and many years of experience were very critical in helping to insure that commanders and their staffs received the best designs to meet their mission requirements." Baltimorean Mark Lynne says of his father, "My Dad was beloved by so many people, whether it was my Little League teammates whom he managed, the kids and teachers in the Good Shepherd Sunday School which he led, or the dozens of candidates he helped get into the Naval Academy as a Blue and Gold officer."

Captain Lynne was a faithful member of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Ruxton and St. James' Episcopal Church in Monkton, and he and his beloved wife, Susan, also ran a homeless shelter in Old St. Paul's Church in Baltimore. He had many adventures. He loyally tracked the Orioles and enjoyed sailing and traveling.

When told of his advanced and terminal cancer, his first reaction to his loved ones was "I've had a wonderful life with all of you" and his only request was time to celebrate with friends and family.

Donald Lynne is survived by his wife Susan; three children: Mark, Kimberley, and Jeffrey; daughter-in-law Kari-Ann; and two grandchildren Daniel and Bridget.

A Mass of Christian burial will be held at the Chapel at Augsburg Assisted Living Facility, 6811 Campfield Road on Saturday, August 26th at 11am.

More on Captain Lynne's life can be found at http://donaldmarklynne.wordpress.com

Donations can be made in Captain Lynne's honor to the Wounded Warriors Project via Operation First Response (Wounded Warriors), 20037 Dove Hill Road, Culpepper, VA 22701 or www.operationfirstresponse.org

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