Lynn Whiddon passed away peacefully at her home at Spring Harbor surrounded by her family. The family invites friends to join them for a brief graveside service at 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, July 16, at Magnolia Creek Estates in Parkhill Cemetery with the Reverend Connie Pease Happell officiating. A public
Service of Worship and Thanksgiving to Celebrate Lynn’s Life will be held in the Sanctuary of the First Baptist Church of Columbus at 4:00 p.m., Thursday, July 26, with the Reverend Dr. Jimmy Elder officiating.
A professional violinist, Lynn received her Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where she met her future husband, L. Rexford Whiddon. She served as Concertmaster of the Eastman Philharmonia under the baton of composer/conductor Igor Stravinsky and during her career played with the Erie Philharmonic, Rochester Philharmonic, Chautauqua Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony and Wichita Symphony. After moving to Columbus in 1970, she was named Associate Concertmaster of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, a position she held for over thirty years before retiring.
Lynn’s impact as a music educator and violinist over the decades is immeasurable. She taught hundreds of private music students in her home and through the Music Conservatory Division of the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University. While teaching and performing she also earned her Master of Music degree in Music Education from CSU. In addition, she played an important role supporting her husband as he developed the Columbus State University Schwob School of Music into one of the top tier music schools in the country.
Outside her family, perhaps her most important legacy is the pivotal role she played in founding the Youth Orchestra of Greater Columbus in 1993, an organization in which she took tremendous pride. She served as the founding President of the Board of Directors, a role she filled several times over the years. In recognition of her service and commitment she was named President Emeritus recently.
Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2011, Lynn endured numerous bouts of illness, throughout it all serving as an inspiration and example for so many. To be with her one would never know of the health battles she had and was facing as she taught us much about courage, grace, and quite, but powerful strength. Her devotion to her family was evident in the priority she gave to her husband, children and grandchildren. It is a legacy that will continue for generations to come.
Lynn’s volunteer activities ranged from serving as supervisor of her daughters’ brownie troupe in the 1970’s, to serving for many years as an enthusiastic docent for the Columbus Museum. For its twenty-sixth annual fundraiser, Crystal Ball in 2014, the American Cancer Society chose Lynn and Rex as honorees. The event was aptly named “Symphony of Hope” for the Whiddons’ involvement in the music community in Columbus.
She is survived by her loving and devoted husband of 50 years, Rex Whiddon; children Caroline Whiddon and Ronald Braunstein of Boston, MA, Julie and Mark Frye of Charleston, SC, Matt and Odona Whiddon of Columbus, GA; grandchildren, Cameron, Brynnan and Brady Frye, and Jonah, Micah and Levi Whiddon; and sisters Gail McNeill and Jane Sturtevant.
In lieu of flowers, those wishing to do so may make contributions to the Lynn K. Whiddon Endowment Fund of the Youth Orchestra of Greater Columbus. (YOGC, P.O. Box 8612, Columbus, GA 31908).
