Lynn L. Barnes

Celebrating the life of Lynn L. Barnes Dec. 12, 1942 – July 11, 2020 Today I took a walk with my nature-loving son in the San Francisco Botanical Gardens and around the Conservatory of Flowers and remembered one of my former high school teachers, Mr. Lynn Barnes. Yesterday this dear man was lost to the ravages of COVID19, and today his partner of 47 years, Richard Smith, continues to fight it. It has been decades since I have seen either of them, and yet my grief tells me just how significant they were to me. Mr. Barnes was someone who was deeply attuned to all the beauty in this world, whether in art, nature, or cultural experiences. He had a gift for bringing out the color and light in everything. He also had a zest for good food and for cooking, which he always said was best enjoyed with good company. I am certain that if I had known him as an adult, we would have been friends. It’s fitting, of course, that he taught me both Humanities and Art Appreciation. Years later when visiting museums, I would smile as I recalled seemingly random facts about subjects like Baroque art or neoclassical architecture that he had taught me. (Thankfully he never pushed me to take his other art or ceramics classes, as I think we both knew I was *hopeless* in those areas.) I remember Mr. Barnes as someone with an incredibly kind spirit who especially bestowed so much love on his beautiful (and always impeccably groomed) dogs. He had a great sense of humor, though I think perhaps it was more understated (though maybe that was just for his students). I still remember a project in his class in which we had to construct an elaborate kite using geometric principles (I think?), and his letting us know we’d fail the assignment if it did not fly. I swear I can almost still feel the anxiety I had when it was time to fly my kite – but I also distinctly remember seeing the twinkle in his eye when he saw my overwhelming relief upon lift off! In high school I was a diehard theatre kid who never missed a single school or community production, and so it was actually his partner, our drama teacher – Mr. Smith – who was the teacher I probably came to know the best. Mr. Smith gave me so much of what I needed in high school – a feeling of belonging, a boost in my self-confidence, the opportunity to be reminded about the world that existed outside of high school. He put our small school on the map for its drama program, and together he and I would take such pride in regularly winning international school theatre festivals as the complete underdog. More importantly, though, Mr. Smith honed my empathy and critical thinking skills with his teaching and direction. It is for all these reasons—and so much more—I am holding the deep sorrow of Mr. Smith’s loss, mourning for him and the heartbreaking manner in which he had to say goodbye to his love, and hoping that his suffering eases in every way. Lynn will be cremated and his remains will be buried in Darling Cemetery, Orwell, Bradford County, Pennsylvania. - Andrea Gergay Baird