Lynn Alan Phelps

Lynn was born on September 2, 1940 in Charles City, Iowa, the son of Percy and Helen (Shaw) Phelps. His family moved to Lytton, Iowa shortly before he started Kindergarten. Lynn then graduated from Lytton High School in 1958 and Buena Vista College in Storm Lake, Iowa in 1962.

In 1964, Lynn married Ruth Rolfes and after teaching three years of high school in Cherokee, Iowa they moved to Arizona together. He taught one year in Arizona and then earned a Masters of Arts from Arizona State University. Shortly after, they moved to Southern California where he earned a Ph D. from the University of Southern California.

Dr. Phelps and his wife then moved to Ohio and he became a university professor teaching at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and subsequently Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. Lynn taught interpersonal communications and statistics and eventually became the chair of the Interpersonal Communications department at Ohio University. Lynn loved teaching, especially working directly with his students and was always highly regarded for his ability to connect individually with his students.

Lynn retired from Ohio University and moved to Phoenix, Arizona in the early 1990’s. He started a new career selling real estate. In addition, he also resumed his love of teaching by teaching the real estate class for those looking to become licensed real estate agents. Lynn fully retired in 2020.

Lynn and Ruth divorced in 1982. Lynn is survived by their son Bradley Phelps of Atlanta, Georgia along with Brad’s wife, Kristen, and their children Ryan and Mckenna. Lynn is also survived by his sister Marilyn Redmond of Phoenix, Arizona.

Lynn was preceded in death by his parents, his brother, Robert, and his former wife, Ruth.

Lynn loved baseball and was a season ticket holder for the Cincinnati Reds and later Arizona Diamondbacks. He also loved playing golf, a game he taught his son at a young age. He will be remembered for his sense of adventure, intellectual curiosity, commitment to education, sense of humor (including the very last days of his life) and strong love of immediate family.

A celebration of Lynn’s life will be scheduled at a later date and held in the Phoenix area.

In Lieu of Flowers, donations may be made in Lynn’s memory to the Arizona Humane Society: https://www.azhumane.org