“Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars…”
Songs like this Bart Howard classic, sung by Frank Sinatra, and jazz and big band music brought joy to Lynn throughout her life and could be heard every day in her home.
Born to parents Ben W. Friedel and Pauline E. Newman, Lynn, as she always preferred to be called, began life alongside her twin sister, Shirley Jean in 1931. She and Shirley were inseparable as children and a source of comfort to each other throughout their lives until Shirley died in 1994.
Lynn married (Bill) Cargill, and together, their family grew to include six children as they moved around southern Kansas and Missouri to support Bill’s career.
Still remaining very close as adults, Lynn and Bill, and Shirley and her husband, Don Helton, gave three children in their respective families the same first names but with slightly different spellings: Kevin, David and Schaen, making for interesting family get togethers.
Lynn is most remembered for her warm and loving spirit, pleasant laugh and ability to strike up a conversation with anyone she met, including waiters at restaurants. She made everyone around her feel uniquely special and loved and was an excellent listener and dispensed bits of wisdom like “some things just have to be said.” She enjoyed the occasional gin and tonic, made properly only when garnished with fresh lime.
With the backdrop of her beloved music collection, her home was always a bright haven for her large family, dear life-long friends like Dorothy Welker, and anyone who needed a kind ear.
Lynn was preceded in death by her parents, twin sister Shirley Jean Helton, brothers, Paul and Gordon Friedel, husband Bill, sons, Brian and Kevin, and daughter, Stephene Olive. She is survived by sons Schaen (Maria) and David, daughter Lisa Moulthrop (Tim), son-in-law Kermit Olive, grandchildren Heather (Cory) Bates, Kerri (Sheikh) Sanyang, Neil (Chavon) Swartz, Melissa (John) Krayca, Mark (Vanessa) Smith, Kyle (Leslie) Smith, Bryan (Stephanie) Cargill, Caitlyn (Danny) Dolar and many wonderful great-grandchildren.
Lynn died on January 15, 2021 at Sharon Lane Health and Rehabilitation in Shawnee, Kansas. She was buried in a private service at Mt. Moriah Cemetery South in Kansas City, Missouri. A funeral service will be held later when everyone can gather safely.
Memorial contributions may be made in her honor to the American Jazz Museum at 1616 E. 18th Street, Kansas City, MO 64108, https://americanjazzmuseum.org/support
