Obituary of Lillian Janet Duffy

Lillian Janet Duffy (Gunn), a sixty year resident of the Diablo Valley, died peacefully in her sleep on Friday December 28, 2018. She was eighty eight years old and dealing with the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. Lynn touched many lives with her kindness, her creativity and her love of music. She is survived by her sister Virginia, her son Kevin, her daughters Teresa and Kimberly and her grandchildren Matthew Tamplen and Roxanne Simons. Lynn was born in 1930 to Kirken and Katherine Hernan Gagos. She graduated from Lincoln High School in San Francisco in 1948. She attended City College of San Francisco and San Francisco State University where she earned her elementary school teaching credential. She married her husband Neill Gunn and raised her three children in Concord, Pleasant Hill and Lafayette. Lynn taught elementary school in the Mt. Diablo and Pleasant Hill school districts for over twenty years. She also served as a Resource Teacher helping to coordinate curriculum. Lynn earned her administrative credential from Saint Mary’s college. After she retired, Lynn worked as a substitute teacher, an interior decorator, a paralegal, a child advocate and she helped train teachers at Chapman college. Lynn loved plants and was often accused of having a “green thumb” because of the way her garden and indoor plants thrived. She loved driving her Mazda Miata and being a part of Miata club car rallies. She played the piano for a short time at Diablo Valley College accompanying various singing groups. She also loved to sing and enjoyed being a part of the Lafayette-Orinda church vocal group which had the privilege of traveling to Carnegie Hall to sing. Lynn moved to Rossmoor where she played tennis, bridge, golf and was involved with her favorite social group the Red Hats. She also volunteered and worked at Rossmoor in a number of different capacities as well as driving for Meals on Wheels. Lynn loved to travel, especially to Hawaii where she lived for eighteen months with her daughter Kimberly. Lynn was an avid democrat and she volunteered to help at the Democratic National Convention at the Moscone Center. Lynn lived a very well rounded life filled with friends, family and many meaningful moments. Her beautiful smile and cheerful spirit will be sorely missed by all who knew her. Memorial services for Lynn will be held at the St. Andrews Presbyterian Church In Pleasant Hill (1601 Mary Drive, Pleasant Hill, CA  94523) on Saturday, February 16th at 3:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America 322 8th Ave 7th Floor New York NY 10001