Lynda was born in Sedro-Woolley, Washington, on June 14, 1943, to Norma and Neil Dickson. She grew up alongside her cherished younger sister, Cyndi, and spent her childhood working in bulb and berry fields, cheerleading for the Sedro-Woolley Cubs, singing her dad’s World War II songs, and dancing to Rockin' Robin by Bobby Day.
Lynda met the love of her life, Richard Lennox, in junior high. They started going steady on August 18, 1957, and he gave her a ring in Sedro-Woolley’s Dream Theatre to mark the occasion. The ring was later thrown into a raspberry patch during a lovers’ tiff, never to be seen again (Lynda was nothing if not fiery). But she and Rich proved inseparable. They eloped on February 24, 1962, and had three daughters, Traci Lennox-Brunoff, Jennifer Lennox-Sayler, and Sarah Lennox-Som.
Rich once said their life together started “the moment Lynda looked at me.” Over the nearly 70 years that followed, the pair became partners in every sense. They founded Cascade Loggers Supply in Chehalis in 1969, bringing many of their Skagit County friends and family members along with them. In 1991, Cascade Trader was born. Lynda carried her berry-field work ethic with her to the family businesses, playing an integral, hands-on role in both and touching the lives of many in the logging industry over the years.
Lynda was whip-smart and a lifelong learner. She graduated in the top ten of her class at Sedro-Woolley High School in 1961 and later received her Associate of Arts degree from Centralia College, graduating with a 4.0 while working full time and raising three young children. She loved to read, and she loved to figure things out—no one followed a technical explanation from an EMT or a chemical engineer like she could. She was an independent thinker who always developed her own point of view and was never afraid to share it.
Lynda also had an adventurous spirit. She lived, and loved living, more fiercely than just about anyone. Among her many escapades, Lynda rode motorcycles across the desert in cutoffs and a halter top, jumped into the river at a company picnic, broke her leg playing beer-league softball, and took ballet lessons in her 40s (performing in the Nutcracker to boot).
Lynda recently informed her family that she planned to live to 100—and no one would have made it look better. One friend called Rich and Lynda “the youngest old couple he’d ever met.” They frequented plays and musicals at Seattle’s Fifth Avenue Theatre with their lifelong friends, Dave and Viki Draper, who were also their intrepid travel partners. In recent years, Lynda trekked through the rain in the Isle of Skye, went deep sea fishing out of Sitka, Alaska, and hiked to the top of Incan ruins in Peru during an unforgettable yoga retreat with Viki. On a trip to Portugal, she developed a fondness for gin and tonics replete with citrus slices, as several local bartenders can attest. And she loved basking in the sun, especially on the beach in Hawaii.
Some would say Lynda, fondly known as “Nana,” spent an inordinate amount of time with her family, who adored her completely. Parents and grandparents are often admired. But those lucky enough to be related to Lynda also wanted to sit by her, look like her, dress like her, and be like her, exactly as she was at 82.
Lynda still worked at Cascade Trader alongside Rich, her three daughters, and multiple grandchildren—and in the company of great-grandchildren, who she got a real kick out of. She was always the first to volunteer to climb into the “back-back” of the car on the family’s frequent morning coffee trips, just to make room for a couple more people to pile in. And despite long days together, she went out to dinner with her family several times a week. Restaurant servers often saw the size of her posse and asked, “What’s the occasion?”
There usually wasn’t one.
But Lynda had a special knack for bringing people together, occasion or no. She was inclusive to her core: her daughters weren’t allowed to start a club unless everyone was invited, and Lynda followed that rule in her own life, too. She readily welcomed people into her home to celebrate holidays, weather rough patches, and just hang out. All occasions were made significantly better by the fact that she was an awesome cook (though she’d protest if you told her so).
Lynda also made a superhuman effort to support her loved ones in all their endeavors. If someone in the family had a football game, a jazz concert, a swim meet, a musical, a ballet recital, a graduation, a weight-lifting competition—you name it—Lynda was proud to be there. Even if it took an hours-long drive to make it happen.
Lynda was preceded in death by her mother, Norma Dickson; her father, Neil Dickson; and her sisters, Cyndi and Jennifer Dickson. She is survived by her adoring husband of 64 years, Richard Lennox; her three daughters, Traci Lennox-Brunoff, Jennifer (Tim) Sayler, and Sarah (Jeff) Lennox-Som; her six grandchildren, Zachary (Caitlyn) Sayler, R.J. Brunoff, Cooper Brunoff, Angus Brunoff, Zoe Sayler, and Sophia (Colton) Moorhead; her four great-grandchildren, Emilia Sayler, June Sayler, Stetson Moorhead, and Parker Moorhead; her beloved nieces and nephews; and many other family members and friends who will miss her dearly. Her spirit lives on through generations of people striving to be just like Nana.
During her brief stay in the hospital, Lynda was accompanied by her usual crew of loved ones, who desperately hoped for a miracle. Suddenly losing someone so uniquely alive felt, and feels, incomprehensible. But Lynda’s miracle was the one-in-a-trillion life she lived.
The Lennox family invites you to celebrate Lynda and her miraculous life with us at the Riverside Golf Course Pavilion in Chehalis, Washington, on August 9 at 1 p.m.
