Jan. 4, 1949 – April 13, 2018

Our wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and best friend to many, Lynn Beatrice Maki, left us after a five-month gallant struggle from Glioblastoma brain cancer.

Lynn was born just outside of Onaka, South Dakota to Clane and Emma Roesch on January 4, 1949. The story goes that Emma was ready for delivery at the onset of a barnburner of a South Dakota blizzard and Clane chained up a fuel tanker and drove the expectant mother to the hospital in Faulkton where Lynn was born. Lynn was the second of four Roesch children, with older sister Dorothy and sister and brother Kenny and Paulette to come later. Lynn’s early memories of living in Onaka include helping her Grandma Waldman butcher chickens which would be fried up for Sunday dinner. The family moved to Ellendale, ND in 1954 where Clane ran the Red and White Grocery Store. In 1957 Lynn became a Montana citizen when they moved to Plentywood, MT where her father bought the local Dairy Queen and eventually the Bakery Café and laundromat. They made the last move in 1960 to Billings, MT, where Lynn spent the rest of her growing-up years.

Lynn graduated from Billings West High School in 1967 and married her high school sweetheart, Bob Brown in 1968. Bob was drafted shortly after the marriage began and Lynn spent a year on Army bases in Mississippi and Louisiana. Bob was sent to Vietnam in 1969 so Lynn came home to Montana and went to work for Mountain Bell as a switchboard operator and enrolled at Eastern Montana College. After Bob completed his time in the service, both graduated with education degrees in 1972 from Eastern. They both landed teaching jobs in Rosebud, MT where their cost of living was supplemented by the local high school deer hunters. Lynn taught elementary grades and junior high math. Bob and Lynn’s daughter Dey was born in Miles City on Bob’s birthday, May 20th, 1973. The family moved back to Billings in 1976 where Lynn taught nearby at a small farming community school in Eldergove. In 1979 Bob and Lynn divorced, Lynn packed up Dey and went back to college at the University of Montana. After three lean years of being a single mom on a limited income, she graduated in 1982 with a BS in Computer Science.

In 1982, Lynn started working for Mike Schaer at Computers Unlimited as a programmer and soon moved up into various management positions, eventually making it to a department director for CU. Lynn traveled extensively in her 27 year career with CU, first starting as installing software and later as a consultant that assessed the needs of future CU clients. Lynn traveled all over the U.S., Canada, Mexico and to Columbia South America. Lynn was known and respected in the industry for her ability to solve the most complex of problems, the knack to smooth ruffled feathers, her customer service ethic and the ability to complete projects on time. She made friends behind every door she ever walked through. Lynn retired from CU in 2009, moved to Helena and was immediately hired as a manager for a programming unit with the Department of Health and Human Services. She retired for a good minute after she turned 65 in 2014.

In 1982 Lynn met Mark Maki, a union construction worker, which began a nine year stretch of dating, breaking up and getting back together again. Mark and Lynn were married for real in 1991. During the “not sure about this relationship period” Mark returned to college, earned a second undergraduate degree in Business Administration and took a job with the Department of Labor and Industry in Helena. Lynn and Mark had an 18 year commuter marriage which required travel between Billings and Helena. Lynn left Billings in 2009 and they have lived happily under the same roof for the last 9 years.

Lynn truly enjoyed spending time with her daughter Dey. She jumped at the chance to visit her wherever she happened to live, but especially enjoyed planning trips they could take together. It was often noted that they enthusiastically ate and drank their way through any city or town they visited but mostly just appreciated their time together.

Lynn was the ring leader in establishing book clubs in Billings and Helena, which basically entailed the consumption of Chardonnay, snacking and gabbing with her many friends. A book was occasionally reviewed. Lynn fly fished, she loved spending time drifting the Missouri and for some reason she managed to fall into just about every river she fished. At age 60 she took an 8 day guided pack trip with Mark into the Bob Marshall Wilderness which included a 26 mile horseback ride to the base camp. She was always game for an adventure. Lynn belonged to the Fox Ridge ladies golf league, another reason to spend time with friends and sip chardonnay. She had a lucky streak, she enjoyed gambling in Las Vegas and was on a first name basis at several local casinos. Lynn loved to socialize, planning Friday night cocktails and dinner with our friends the Herzogs and the Tuttles and attending fundraisers for just about anything.

Lynn was an active member of the St. Mary’s Catholic Community Church. She baked communion bread, provided baked goods for church events, generously “stuffed the bus” every fall, provided Christmas gifts to those in need and donated to just about any charity that supported low income families and single mothers raising families. Lynn was a champion for women in the workplace, for equal pay and encouraged young women to advance themselves professionally.

Lynn was loving and caring to all in our family. Our door was always open and she made sure no one she knew went without. She made every effort to spoil her two grandsons and she always kept them smothered with treats and love. Her smile, her love and her tenderness will be sorely missed by all who knew her.

Lynn: Our world is not the same place without you. You will be forever missed and always loved.

The family would like to thank Dr. Thomas Weiner and Emily Burton with the St. Peter’s Health cancer treatment center and the entire staff from Frontier Hospice for the comfort and care hey provided for Lynn and her family during this difficult time.

A Rosary and Vigil will be held at St. Mary’s Catholic Community Church, 1700 Missoula Ave., on Sunday, April 22nd at 4:30p.m. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 12:10p.m. on Monday, April 23rd at Saint Mary Catholic Community with a reception to follow the Mass at the church.