Lynn Pippenger

Lynn Pippenger, a longtime Tampa Bay business leader and philanthropist, died peacefully on March 7, 2026 at Elison Pinecrest in Largo. She was 87. Born and raised in St. Petersburg, Ms. Pippenger lived most of her life in Pinellas County. She was a graduate of Northeast High School, where she helped select the school's Viking mascot and competed in archery. While still in high school, she began working part-time as a bookkeeper at the iconic Webb City, crediting its founder, "Doc" Webb, with encouraging her to pursue a college education.

In 1969, she joined a small St. Petersburg firm as a payroll clerk that is now known as Raymond James Financial, Inc. (RJ. Over a distinguished 43-year career, she brought in the first PC (with 16k of memory), created the basis for RJ's Learning and Development team, was deeply involved in RJ's transition to a publicly traded company, started the Information Technology department and served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, before retiring in 2012.

While working full time at Raymond James, Ms. Pippenger earned her Bachelor of Science in Accountancy through a 16-year journey of night classes at St. Peters- burg Junior College and the University of South Florida (USF) St. Petersburg. She later completed the Executive MBA program at USF Tampa, graduating with honors in 1988. In recognition of her lifelong support of the university, the Lynn Pippenger School of Accountancy was named in her honor in 2015.

A devoted advocate for education, Ms. Pippenger expressed her philosophy of "giving back in time, talent, and treasure" through transformational charitable gifts totaling tens of millions of dollars. Her generosity supported scholarships, intern- ships, study-abroad opportunities, innovative academic programs, and named fa- cilities across the University of South Florida system, including Lynn Pippenger Hall on the St. Petersburg campus. She matched the Tiedemann-Cotton Challenge establishing the Student Managed Investment Fund and she endowed the Lynn Pippenger Deanship at the Muma College of Business. Her honors included the USF Distinguished Alumna Award in 2015 and being named Philanthropist of the Year in 2017 by the Suncoast Association of Fundraising Professionals.

She was also a passionate supporter of libraries and local history. Her philanthropy helped establish the Genealogy Department at the Largo Public Library and underwrote the Lynn Pippenger St. Petersburg History Collection at the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library at USF St. Petersburg. She was also a proud supporter of Andrews Osborne Academy in Willoughby, Ohio, where she established the Pippenger Promise.

Ms. Pippenger shared a love of trains with her longtime partner, John Deinlein, filling their home with miniature railways and villages. Following his death, she made a significant gift supporting cardiology at USF Health. She was also an enthusiastic sports fan, closely following PGA golf, USF football, the Dallas Cowboys, the New York Yankees, and the Tampa Bay Rays.

A Celebration of Lynn's Life will be held Sunday, May 3, 2026 at 3 pm at Lynn Pippenger Hall at 700 4th Street South, on the USF St. Petersburg campus.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to:

Andrews Osborne Academy,

38588 Mentor Avenue, Willoughby, OH 44094.

Greater Largo Public Library,

120 Central Park Drive, Largo, FL 33771.

Suncoast Hospice,

5771 Roosevelt Boulevard, Clearwater, FL 33760.

USF Foundation Lynn Pippenger Endowed Scholarships,

140 Seventh Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.

Online contributions are below.