Lynn, 60, clinical professor

Frances Lynn, a UNC clinical professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, died Tuesday after a two-year battle with cancer. She was 60.

Lynn, born April 12, 1944, in New Brunswick, N.J., is remembered by loved ones and colleagues for her love of people and commitment to the University and environment.

“She had a boundless enthusiasm for humane relationships with people and for making communities better places for people,” said Richard “Pete” Andrews, Lynn’s colleague and friend of more than 20 years.

Lynn taught in the public health leadership program at the University and directed dissertations and master’s theses for graduate students in public health.

Cass Miller, chairman of the environmental science and engineering department, said he will remember Lynn’s “overwhelmingly positive, optimistic, energetic outlook on life and commitment to discovery and learning that went on with unbelievable passion right up until the end.”

Lynn created the Environmental Resource Program at the University and helped maintain it for more than 20 years. The program links the environmental resources of the University with the citizens of North Carolina.

Friends say Lynn was dedicated to the mission of the environmental program to promote environmental stewardship and public health through education, research and community service.

“She linked science and the community in a very proactive manner,” said Barry Popkin, Lynn’s committed partner and a nutrition professor at the University.

Lynn also served on the board of the Eno River Association, which works to conserve and protect the nature, culture and history of the Eno River basin.

Colleagues said they will miss the woman who loved to sing, dance, travel, educate and improve the community and the environment.

“Her passion was for her work,” said Roger Kaplan, Lynn’s friend and next-door neighbor of six years. “To the end, she was passionate about her research and teaching.”

Andrews and many of Lynn’s other friends expressed similar sentiments.

“I was one of many, many people who thought Fran was our best friend,” Andrews said.

Lynn had an undeniable presence in the Watts Hospital Community where she lived, Kaplan said.

She split her own garden into separate plots so neighborhood children could maintain their own space, Kaplan said. When she died, Lynn was in the process of remodeling the second floor of her house to make a playroom for the children in the neighborhood.

“She became like a grandma for the kids of the neighborhood,” Kaplan said. He described how Lynn took the role of a “surrogate grandmother” for his own son.

Popkin said an endless number of friends offered to help Lynn when she fell ill.

“Friends from every walk of life would come to help her,” he said. “She built this cadre of close friends who truly loved and cared for her over her life … both personally and professionally.”

Lynn is survived by her son, Theo Luebke; sister, Nancy Lynn; and committed partner, Popkin.

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.