Obituary of Lynn Dee McMurtry

Lynn McMurtry (nee Johnson)
October 20, 1963 – July 5, 2024

Lynn McMurtry, age 60, of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, passed away peacefully on July 5, 2024, at home surrounded by the love of her family.

Lynn is survived by her two sons, Brett and Dane of Saskatoon, brother Will Johnson and sister-in-law Debbie of Regina, nieces Jenna, Amy, and Elizabeth, sister Brenda and brother-in-law Craig Webster of Ottawa, and nephews Kirk, Troy, and Derek. Lynn is preceded in death by her husband Keith McMurtry and her parents Lorne and Alice Johnson.

Lynn grew up in Regina until Grade 5 and then the family moved to Humboldt.  Her family spent her early childhood summers at Lorne’s family grain farm in Leroy.   She graduated high school from Humboldt Collegiate Institute in 1981.  Lynn earned a Bachelor of Arts Honors in Sociology with a minor in Psychology from the University of Saskatchewan in 1985.

Lynn excelled at swimming and qualified to take life guarding at age 9 (she was required to wait).  Moving to Humboldt was quite a shock for Lynn as there were no indoor pools and the elementary school was in its original 1905 form and the desks had inkwells and drawers under the seats!  The Regina school had been “open concept” (no walls between classrooms) and both Lynn and Brenda had developed super concentration abilities.  In the Humboldt school, the teachers sent them for hearing tests because they weren’t listening!

The family enjoyed visits and holidays with the Myron and Dennis Johnson cousins. At the first Christmas in the Humboldt house, most of the 12 cousins under age 12 slept on the living room floor in sleeping bags (no furniture yet) and had epic pillow fights, until of course, someone ended up in tears.  Over the years, the kids complained about the gross tomato aspic Jello salad but always enjoyed the lavish suppers.

When Lynn was in Grade 7 (1975), Alice switched from selling Tupperware to selling Avon.  Lynn developed a lifelong interest in perfumes/candles/room scents, make-up and hair products!

In high school, Lynn played basketball and had a gaggle of girlfriends.  In summers, she competed in speed swimming all over the province and taught swimming and lifeguarded.

Lynn solidified her interest in criminology during her university summer jobs as a student RCMP officer and a student parole officer.

After university, Lynn began her career in Corrections in 1985 at Pine Grove Provincial Correctional Centre for Women in Prince Albert. She joined the Correctional Service of Canada in 1986 as a Correctional Officer at the Regional Psychiatric Centre in Saskatoon.  She worked in a variety of minimum, medium and multi-level institutions and in Community Corrections.  She held a variety of positions including Parole Officer, Chief Adjunctive Therapies, Regional Administrator (RA) Communications and Executive Services, RA Correctional Operations, and RA Human Resources at Regional Headquarters in Saskatoon.

Lynn was appointed District Director of Saskatchewan Parole District in October 1999, Warden of Riverbend Institution (Prince Albert) in April 2007 and Executive Director of the Regional Psychiatric Centre (Saskatoon) in July 2008. She became the Assistant Deputy Commissioner of Integrated Services in May 2011 and retired in August 2019.

Lynn loved community corrections, championed the role of RPC as a psychiatric hospital and believed strongly in supporting initiatives that would meet the needs of women, Indigenous people, and those with mental health needs.

Lynn had a very prestigious career with Federal Corrections and was recognized with several exemplary service awards, including the Queens Jubilee Medal in 2013 for significant contributions in public service, the Corrections Exemplary Service Medal, and the Saskatchewan Protective Services Medal.

She was a leader and mentor to many and a friend who valued the people she worked with and the challenging but rewarding work associated with a career in federal corrections.

While Lynn’s career was an important part of her life, it was her family that was most important to her. Lynn married Keith in 1996.  Sons Brett and Dane soon came and Keith bought a cabin at Turtle Lake.  They would pack every Thursday night and unpack every Sunday night.  Like many other parents, Lynn recalled those early years with newborns/toddlers, busy work weeks, and weekend trips to the cabin as exhausting.  Keith, Lynn and the boys developed wonderful family memories and lifelong friends there, despite frequent visits to the medical clinic with the boys!

Both Keith and Lynn travelled regularly on business and because both boys frequently got ear infections, Grandpa & Baba (Lorne and Alice) helped look after the boys a lot.  Lynn was very close to her parents and had daily phone calls with them until they passed.

The family’s first Saskatoon home was in Caswell Hill, where Lynn had a beautiful flower garden and loved flowers much like her mother.  The boys enjoyed playing soccer in the yard, so she frequently had to re-plant.

What Brett and Dane remember most about Lynn and Keith is their kind and loving nature. Whether it was picking them up from friends, or driving them to-and-from sporting events, Keith and Lynn always made the boys their priority. Brett and Dane have many fond memories of skipping school on Fridays, in order to spend more time at the lake with family. These trips often ended in a late-night rush home on Sundays, only to be repeated the very next weekend.

After Keith passed in 2012, Lynn and her sons moved to their Stonebridge home and the boys commuted back to Caswell Hill to finish high school.

Family was very important to Lynn.  When Lynn had business travel to Ottawa, she always tried to stay an extra day to visit Brenda and her family.  Lynn and the boys travelled to visit with Will and his family and vice versa on most main holidays and vacations.

Lynn had many dear friends, from work, from kids’ activities, and from Leroy!  As well as having fun, she both gave and received support from her friends.

After Lynn and friend Joanne Machiskinic were both widowed, Lynn came to appreciate Joanne’s handyman skills and joked “What do I need a man for? I have you, Jo”.

It was also a bit of a joke that Mary Danel joined Lynn & Keith on several occasions for Valentine’s Days and Keith cooked for them and served them wine!

Whenever there was a crisis in either Brenda Lepage’s life or Lynn’s, Brenda offered to come down for a visit to “clean out or organize her pantry” which was really just code for sharing tears, laughter and of course wine.

Lynn liked to shop and did not like to be short of anything.  At times, her pantry was so full she couldn’t find the items she needed, so she just bought more! Brenda and Mary helped sort things many times to no avail.

Lynn loved her sons dearly and always put them first.  She did everything she could to minimize the impact of losing their father at a young age.  Her boys were her world, her focus, and the greatest pride of her life.  She supported them through all their sporting activities and attended every event she could.  With Lynn's encouragement, both boys went on to complete their university education. Lynn was very comforted in the end, knowing the boys were set up for success into the future and are surrounded by family and friends.

Lynn’s strong compassion, kindness, and generosity extended beyond her boys to others including friends, extended family, and her sons’ friends Holton, Hunter & Garth.

Our family gives special thanks to Mary, who has been the fairy godmother to the boys over the years, helping out after Keith passed and supporting Lynn through her illness. The family would also like to thank Lynn’s health care team including the Palliative care team, the Cancer Center, Dr. Dueck, Dr. Raj Paul, and the Occupational Therapists team.

If you wish to make a donation in Lynn’s memory, please send donations to the Canadian Cancer Society.

A celebration of life will be held on July 19, 2024, at 1 pm at the Sandman Signature Hotel, 2815 Lorne Avenue, in Saskatoon.

A private family Internment will be held at the Leroy Public Cemetery.