Carolyn "Lynn"

DeHart

Carolyn “Lynn” DeHart passed away peacefully in her sleep on November 6, 2026. She is survived by a host of family and friends who will miss her dearly.

 Lynn was born in 1943 to Peg & Ken Ryder in Longmeadow, MA, where she grew up with her brother (David), and three sisters (Susan, Barbie, and Mary). She loved singing, reading, and making up games, stories, and plays with her sisters and cousins.

 After high school, Lynn attended North Adams State College, where she majored in elementary education and developed a deep love of both learning and teaching others. She paid for college by working summers at Geneva Point Camp at Lake Winnipesaukee, which became a formative place in her life. It was at North Adams where she also developed a spirit for adventure that would carry her through life. Lynn used summer breaks as an opportunity to see the world - road tripping across the country and even boarding a cargo ship for a transatlantic voyage to a European adventure.

 The summer after her college graduation, Lynn was waitressing at Storrowton Tavern in Springfield when a different kind of adventure presented itself. A colleague mentioned that his fraternity brother at UMass Amherst was looking for “the perfect woman” and he thought that Lynn fit the bill. This led to a blind date with Donald “Don” DeHart and a relationship that would span 61 years and 59 wedding anniversaries.

 Lynn was a kindergarten and first grade teacher in Connecticut and then Hingham, MA until her first child was born. She and Don then built a home in Duxbury, MA in 1969 where they raised their kids David, Susan (Matura), and Carrie (Hinterthuer), as well as Susan Purcell.

 Always a teacher at heart, Lynn taught her kids to read and ice skate on the pond behind the house while also serving her community as a Girl Scout and Boy Scout Troop leader and as a vocal proponent and fundraiser for the Duxbury public schools and Duxbury Free Library. Lynn could also be moved to political activism when she found a cause worth fighting for (which wasn’t uncommon!)

 She enjoyed teaching Sunday School at Pilgrim Church and delivering Children’s Sermons as well as singing in the church choir. Through the years, Lynn served as a Deacon, was an original member of the fellowship group, Koinonia Circle, headed up several committees and, in a move she was particularly proud of, led the effort to make Pilgrim Church Open and Affirming. Lynn also started the practice of bringing church services to the Village at Duxbury so that all residents had an opportunity to remain spiritually engaged.

 Lynn was a born storyteller and loved sharing stories with others, whether it was recounting recent news she’d read or inventing tales with her vivid imagination. She was a prolific writer of children’s stories and memoir essays and was encouraged to keep writing by her beloved writing group. Lynn even hosted a memoir writing class when she worked at Allerton House at the Village at Duxbury as an activities director.

 Lynn and Don were blessed to have many experiences abroad with friends and family members over the years. They went on cruises in Alaska, vacations in Hawai’i and even a family adventure to the Galapagos Islands. Lynn and Don volunteered several times on medical missions in Vietnam with the non-profit organization Children of Peace and Lynn even spent an extended period of time living on her own in Hanoi and Saigon as the family waited for adoption papers to be cleared for one of her grandsons.

This spirit of adventure seems to have rubbed off, as Lynn’s family is now spread across Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and Arizona, with grandkids in Maryland, Washington, and Hawaii, too! Lynn dearly loved her children, their spouses (Julie, Jeff, Adam, and Craig) and, especially, her 10 grandchildren (Spencer, Xander, Garrett, Christopher, Timothy, Julia, Brynn, Maggie, Daniel, and Joshua). She excitedly oversaw the annual family tradition of bringing the whole crowd back to Duxbury to celebrate the 4th of July – a holiday she claimed as “her” holiday well over 20 years ago and a tradition the family hopes to continue.

Lynn leaves behind a big family – including her devoted husband Don and their beloved dog, Teddy – as well as many, many others who will miss her kind heart, her cheerful laugh and her radiant smile. Lynn was always filled with love, joy and positivity - a “balcony person” who lifted other people up. Her light shines on in all who loved her.

 Her family would like to express heartfelt thanks to the wonderful staff at Newfield House for their exceptional care over the past two years. Arrangements provided by Shepherd Funeral home. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to WGBH (wgbh.org) or Children of Peace International (childrenofpeace.org). A celebration of life will be held at Pilgrim Church on June 26, 2027 at 10:30 A.M. when the whole family is back in town for the 4th of July!