In Memoriam

Dr. Ralph L. Lynn

Ralph Lewis Lynn, Baylor professor emeritus of history, died Tuesday, July 10, 2007, at Providence Hospital in Waco. He was 97. A memorial service will be 11 a.m. Friday, July 13, at First Baptist Church of Waco with Dr. Scott Walker officiating. Burial will be private, and visitation with the family is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, July 12, at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Funeral Home.

Lynn was born Sept. 20, 1909, in Oglesby, to D. H. and Mary Lynn. The family moved to McGregor and then later to Waco, where his first job in a used bookstore encouraged a lifelong love of reading. He was recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus of Waco Public Schools. He graduated from Waco High School and enrolled at Baylor in 1928. In 1932, he graduated with a degree in religion. He was in the dry cleaning business from 1933 to 1942 before enlisting in the U.S. Army, where he served in London during World War II. He joined the history faculty of Baylor University in 1946, earning the M.A. degree in education from Baylor that same year and the Ph.D. in history from the University of Wisconsin in 1951. Upon his retirement from Baylor in 1976, he was named professor emeritus of history.

At Baylor, Lynn was the recipient of the Herbert H. Reynolds Exemplary Service Award, Baylor University's American Ideals Award and the Retired Faculty Award in 1986. He was a member of the James Huckins Society of the Medallion Fellowship, a charter member of the Old Main Society, and a lifetime member of the Baylor Alumni Association. A member of First Baptist Church of Waco for more than 50 years, he was a member of the McCall Bible Class and taught a college Sunday school class for 30 years. He was a former sponsor of Circle K, and since 1951, he had also hosted an annual homecoming gathering for former students, including a Lynn fan club who called themselves "Lynnists."

Among the thousands of students he taught, many considered him to be their most influential professor, and he continued a lifelong correspondence with dozens of students. One of them observed, "Dr. Lynn taught us not merely to look, but to perceive, not merely to hear, but to listen." Another former student, author Robert Fulghum said, "His primary didactic tool was empowerment--he did not confuse indoctrination with education. He respected the capacity of his students to think for themselves."

For more than 50 years he had written guest columns for the Waco Tribune-Herald, and in 1983, he was named an original member of the newspaper's Board of Contributors. In 1998, a collection of his columns was published in a book, What a World! His final column, "Journey of an Inquiring Christian," was printed June 13, 2007. For several years following his retirement, he also pursued a hobby of selling tools at a Waco flea market. He was a charter member of the American Civil Liberties Union, and he volunteered with the Waco-McLennan County Library.

He was preceded in death in 1992 by his wife of almost 60 years, Bessie Mae Lynn; and in 2000 by his second wife, Barbara Callan. In 2001, he married Dorothy Humphrey Lynn, who survives him. Memorials are may be made to the Ralph L. and Bessie Mae Lynn Endowed Chair in History at Baylor University. The family invites you to leave a message or memory in the "Memorial Guestbook" at www.wilkirsonhatchbailey.com . September 20, 1909 -July 10, 2007

Reproduced with permission of the Waco Tribune-Herald, Copyright 2007