Lynn Barbara Gaines

Lynn Barbara Gaines died at the Hutchinson Regional Hospital on Saturday, May 6 of complications from surgery. She was 76 and would have been 77 five days later. An 11 year resident of Lyons, KS, she and her husband Rocky had just moved to Wichita last August. Lynn raised two wonderful daughters in seven states, a US territory, and two foreign countries while supporting her husband's military career in the US Air Force and his civilian careers.

Lynn was born on May 11, 1947 in Denver, CO the second of four children. As a teen, she was an award winning pianist, vocalist, and a recipient of a National Merit Scholarship Award. She met her future husband on a blind date at the United States Air Force Academy, having just graduated from Cherry Creek High School in Denver. She attended Colorado State University from 1965 to 1967, then moved to Enid, OK with her new husband and graduated from Phillips University in 1969.

After a year in Enid at Vance AFB, OK, they spent nine months going from base to base in preparation for Rocky's tour in Viet Nam. Following that year of separation, they moved to Hurlburt Airfield in Fort Walton Beach, FL, where their first daughter was born. After that, there was a series of moves, not un-typical of military families: Tucson, AZ, the Panama Canal Zone, Reston, VA, working as a proof editing for Prentice-Hall, and where their second daughter Sarah was born; then on to Sembach AB, GE. Upon return to the US, they went to Mountain Home AFB, ID, then back to Heidelberg, GE. In both assignments she worked as a teacher for special needs children. Returning to the US, they moved to Maxwell AFB, AL, then to a final assignment at Canon AFB, NM. In each place they lived, Lynn was very active in the communities, providing leadership and support to a number of organizations on the bases and in the towns. In NM she worked in the county domestic violence office, counseling, advising, and saving numerous women and children in the middle of the night.

When they retired from the Air Force, Lynn and Rocky moved back to CO. First in Evergreen, then in Monument, where she was always working in a capacity to help others. In 2011 they moved to Lyons, KS to be with Amy's Family. Lynn was a member of both the First United Methodist Church and the Worthwhile club in Lyons.

Lynn and Rocky recently moved to Larksfield Place in Wichita, KS. She was always a voracious reader and a wonderful musician, playing the piano and the harp. Best of all she was a phenomenal mom and wife.

Lynn is survived by her husband Rocky and two daughters: Amy Gaines of Lyons, KS, and Sarah Strickland of Las Cruces, NM; one grandson; Elijah of Lyons, KS. She will have an internment ceremony in September at the United States Air Force Academy. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society: https://donate.cancer.org

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.MyLakeviewFuneralHome.com for the Gaines family.