Lynn M. Ford

Lynn will be missed, cherished, never forgotten by many, many people and dogs whose lives she touched in her short time on earth. She lived her life on her own terms till the end. She arrived at her final home on August 27, 2022.

Lynn lived a full, interesting life always with a dog or two by her side! If she was in-between dogs of her own, she'd borrow a dog to care for and be with. All her dogs had a silver spoon personally made by her with her creative welding skills and made with love! Her dogs meant the world to her and so did yours without you even knowing it!

There was not a piece of junk that Lynn couldn't get attached to. Her inventive, artistic, imaginative, clever, ingenious mind made it into something useful and fun! Nothing on the side of the road was safe from Lynn!

Blacksmithing was one of Lynn's favorite past times. She was self-taught and proved to be a natural at it due to her artistic talent, perfectionism, attention to detail and the physical demands. Her works of art can be seen on her neighborhood street, in front of independent businesses who entrusted her to make unique signage, at the Minnehaha Dog Park in the capacity of poop bag holders, in friends and relatives' yards as yard art, plant holders and hangers, candle holders and numerous other original, personalized gifts Lynn crafted with love and care.

Mother Earth and Nature were amongst her favorite things! She showed that love everyday by taking her dogs on numerous walks, playtime at the Minnehaha Dog Park, spending most of her time outside in the fresh air no matter the weather...always picking up trash along the way! Her love for Mother Earth and Nature could be seen by her re-used numerous times plastic bags, re-used tin foil, her cloth napkins, not turning her heat on until sometime in November, riding her bike distances others would never dare just to purchase groceries at independently owned stores, farmers markets and most certainly thrift stores and rummage sales! If she were going to visit someone for more than a day, her first question was "Do you have a bike?" She was a natural at gardening, growing bounties to share and canning! Lynn built Blue Bird houses for a trail and maintained her Great Uncle Les' Blue Bird trail and houses he had built decades prior.

The outdoors was "medicine" for Lynn. She found many gifts from above when she was outdoors and regarded those gifts as precious and sacred gifts from family and friends who had passed over decades before. The gifts she found were always just what she needed at that time. She honored and treasured them all by intentional placement in her home, vehicle, garage, or yard. Other times Lynn would pass those gifts onto other family members and friends with the story of how the gift was given to her and from whom she felt it came from. She was a strong believer in "paying it forward" long before that phrase hit the mainstream. Please keep an eye out for gifts from Lynn that will continue to bless us with her spirit!

Lynn was involved in many causes having to do with equal rights, negative environmental impacts, community intrusions by the powers that be and more. Lynn was a natural at organizing protests, stand offs, helping others impacted by gov't property intrusion and being vocal via news media and other sources. Her work with the Friends of Lake Hiawatha will be forever treasured and her legacy will be carried on by them. She felt it was her duty as a steward of this planet to stand up and make a difference. Indeed, she did just that!

Lynn's physical caliber was incredible and the more physical the job was the better she liked it. This physicality never left her in her 65 years until Gillain-Barre debilitated her on her 66th birthday. She put most youngsters to shame when it came time to keep up with her!

Her heart of gold touched many lives, but Lynn would never tell you how she helped so many and the strangers she helped will never know her name. They only know that an earth angel was there for them, and that earth angel was strong and unphased by any obstacles. She was a person who took chances to benefit and help other people and animals in their time of need.

Lynn was tough as nails and a survivor! She had survived hardships, situations and losses in her life that would have taken down the average person. She did this with dignity, grace, strength and true grit.

Lynn had a stubborn streak, (a family trait) and nothing would stop her from whatever her mission was. That streak made many positive, important impacts on her communities and relationships. Her impatience, (also a family trait) got things done and accomplished in surprising time frames whether it be a project she was working on or a cause important to her. She had extreme patience with dogs and kids. Her "impatience and extreme patience balance each other out", she said.

One always knew where they stood with Lynn through her words and demeanor. An honest, sincere attribute with no messing around. Her mind and attitude about someone or a situation could be turned around in time due to her kind nature and that happened many, many times.

Lynn's sense of humor was like no other! She was such fun and lots of times laughed at herself about little and big stuff! Her laugh was contagious! Several times her laughing was due to mischievous antics on her part or others.

Lynn lived a life with "no regrets" as she viewed nothing as regretful because "something is always gained such as insight, self-awareness opportunities although sometimes painful. If you don't learn something, you learn you need to open yourself up to learning something, which can be hard to do, so you learned that, too! Sometimes you learn it takes time to learn, but don't ever regret."

Lynn's love for reading was a big part of her learning process. She preferred books to hold and newspapers to flip through. She read anything she could get her hands on including ingredients on food items, brochures handed to her, the "fine print" (with a magnifying glass) recipes, anything with words! Always curious and always learning through reading and digesting what she had read.

Lynn is now reunited with her Mom, Bob, Grandparents and other family members and friends whom she has missed immensely. Many who left gifts in her path. She is also reunited with her pack, Peekaboo, Blue, Critter, Dottie, Jasper and Eddie and several other family's dogs who she made such a connection with. No doubt she had numerous welcomers running across Rainbow Bridge to greet her.

Lynn left behind her Dad, Dennis Ford, sisters Lori Ford and Suzann Ford-Kluever and many, many other family members and friends who will miss her greatly, but will still feel her love. There's no doubt Lynn will be visiting all of us frequently. Just remember to "open up" to feel her presence as that's what she will want.

· Pick up trash and think of Lynn

· Plant a tree in Lynn's honor

· Be helpful to others in their time of need

· Please, please donate to your choice of no-kill animal shelter in Lynn's name. Whether it be money, food, treats, volunteer time, donated items or taking a shelter dog for a walk or two or three or four...

And always, always adopt!

Celebrations of Lynn's Life will be held in Minneapolis for friends and family in that area and also in Brandon SD for family and friends in that area of the prairie. Date, location and time of these events are TBD as of now.