Obituary for Kari Alice Lynn
Kari Alice Lynn, of Urbana, died January 29, 2021. Kari Alice was born in Decatur Ill., on December 26, 1944, and at age 2 moved with her mother to spend her childhood in Champaign-Urbana. As a young adult womyn, in 1962, she entered a 10-year interracial relationship and became aware of the racism he experienced.
Kari Alice began to identify as lesbian in 1974, aware that she would be living again “outside of mainstream America,” to use her own words. Kari Alice became a feminist, and was extremely active in the women's rights movement. In 1982, she and a group of other feminists chained themselves in the Illinois State Capitol to push for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. Over the years, she engaged with the LGBTQ community, including the gay men’s community and GCAP (Gay Community Aids Project). In 1997, she made two squares for the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. She advocated and marched for social justice her entire adult life. She held strong convictions and sense of her values, and she acted on them.
She was a very kind womyn, and a fierce defender of the under-represented and marginalized. She was an equally fierce friend to those she cared about, and formed close friendships wherever she lived. She made a home in Champaign, Manitowoc and Two Rivers Wis., Port St. Lucie Fla., and finally in Urbana, to which she returned after separating from her long-time partner.
Kari Alice brought a spark of energy to all the various stages of her life, and lived each moment. She was a womyn of many interests and talents: weaving, quilting, drumming, and Ikebana floral arranging. She trained in massage therapy and master gardening, and she avidly enjoyed time spent in nature. She continued self-exploration and growth throughout her life, and in the process she actively enriched the lives of others. Those who loved her will miss her.
She established a meditation practice in 1991, which she sustained. She was a founding member of the Prairie Zen Center and resumed participating upon her return to Champaign-Urbana in 2017. In 2019, Kari Alice joined the Unitarian Universalist Church of Urbana-Champaign (UU), where she felt welcomed by others who share similar social justice values. Caring friends (including members of UU, the Prairie Zen Center, and womyn in her local lesbian group) all joined to become her team of caregivers in her final year. Her life concluded in the same way she lived it: with feisty humor and determination to live her values, surrounded by a caring community.
Celebration of Life for Kari Alice Lynn, 6:30 pm Central Time, Friday, February 12th. To find the link, please visit the UUCUC calendar: https://uucuc.org/blog/church-calendar-monthly/
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Kari Alice began to identify as lesbian in 1974, aware that she would be living again “outside of mainstream America,” to use her own words. Kari Alice became a feminist, and was extremely active in the women's rights movement. In 1982, she and a group of other feminists chained themselves in the Illinois State Capitol to push for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. Over the years, she engaged with the LGBTQ community, including the gay men’s community and GCAP (Gay Community Aids Project). In 1997, she made two squares for the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. She advocated and marched for social justice her entire adult life. She held strong convictions and sense of her values, and she acted on them.
She was a very kind womyn, and a fierce defender of the under-represented and marginalized. She was an equally fierce friend to those she cared about, and formed close friendships wherever she lived. She made a home in Champaign, Manitowoc and Two Rivers Wis., Port St. Lucie Fla., and finally in Urbana, to which she returned after separating from her long-time partner.
Kari Alice brought a spark of energy to all the various stages of her life, and lived each moment. She was a womyn of many interests and talents: weaving, quilting, drumming, and Ikebana floral arranging. She trained in massage therapy and master gardening, and she avidly enjoyed time spent in nature. She continued self-exploration and growth throughout her life, and in the process she actively enriched the lives of others. Those who loved her will miss her.
She established a meditation practice in 1991, which she sustained. She was a founding member of the Prairie Zen Center and resumed participating upon her return to Champaign-Urbana in 2017. In 2019, Kari Alice joined the Unitarian Universalist Church of Urbana-Champaign (UU), where she felt welcomed by others who share similar social justice values. Caring friends (including members of UU, the Prairie Zen Center, and womyn in her local lesbian group) all joined to become her team of caregivers in her final year. Her life concluded in the same way she lived it: with feisty humor and determination to live her values, surrounded by a caring community.
Celebration of Life for Kari Alice Lynn, 6:30 pm Central Time, Friday, February 12th. To find the link, please visit the UUCUC calendar: https://uucuc.org/blog/church-calendar-monthly/
To plant a tree in memory of Kari Alice Lynn, visit the Tribute Store.
Previous Events
Service
Friday
12
Feb
6:30 PM
Unitarian Universalist Church of Urbana-Champaign
309 West Green Street
Urbana, IL 61803
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