Lynn C. McMillion passed away on June 18, 2026, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, at the age of 91, peacefully and surrounded by family.

Lynn was born in Chicago, and grew up in New Canaan, CT and New York, NY before moving to Wheaton, IL. She attended Wheaton High School, where she met her high school sweetheart and husband of 67 years, Lee Newman McMillion, on a blind date.

Lynn attended DePauw University, in Greencastle, IN. She majored in Botany and minored in Business Education. DePauw and the people she met there, especially in Alpha Chi Omega, were precious. At her 50th reunion, she quoted Lee: "DePauw is the perfect expression of what life at a liberal arts college should be."

Lynn and Lee were married on June 16, 1956, after graduating from college. Soon after, they embarked on Lee's first Navy ROTC posting, to Pearl Harbor, HI, on the USS Foss, DE-59.

After serving his three year tour in the Navy, Lee took a job with NASA and the manned space program. Lynn too worked at NASA, in both Hampton, VA and Houston, TX, during the Mercury, Gemini and early Apollo projects (1961-1965). Riverside, CT and Palo Alto, CA followed. At their twenty-fifth high school reunion, Lynn and Lee were the classmates who had moved most often. In a record six years in California, Lynn held positions in the Newcomer's League, PTA, and the Greenmeadow Homeowners Association. To make it easier for their daughters to play softball, Lynn and Lee also founded a Bobby Sox softball league in approximately 1970, before Title IX, when sports for girls were hard to find. Over 50 years later, softball is still active.

In 1973, life brought them to the Washington, DC area. Lynn was inspired by two Pennsylvania Dutch Taufscheins (baptismal certificates) of Lee's ancestors, and began her genealogical education in 1974. The Taufscheins launched multiple genealogy endeavors, and extraordinary friendships, over Lynn's next 37 years.

Those years center on the National Archives (NARA): Lynn took her first National Institute of Genealogical Research (NIGR) course there (three weeks in 1975), and returned for a second course in 1976. Later in her career, she advised on Archives II, and described the National Archives as "her first love" professionally. She was a founder of the Fairfax Genealogical Society (1977), director of NIGR for 15 years (1987-2002), adult education teacher (beginning genealogy, 1977-1984), and director of the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG, 2001-2010). Lynn was honored by the National Genealogical Society (NGS) in 1979 with a Distinguished Service Award, and in 1987 by being elected a Fellow of the NGS. She was certified by NGS for 30 years. Of certification she wrote "I believe in it!" She co-authored several works, including the BCG's popular home study American Genealogy: A Basic Course (1981). One of her favorite sayings was "If you can't prove it, it's not necessarily so."

Lynn loved the above positions because of people. She listed the "opportunity to work with so many extraordinarily talented and dedicated genealogists" as the greatest reward of her career. She wrote of "learning at the feet of masters" via NIGR and fellow genealogists.

The people and tasks at the Federal Acknowledgement Project of the Bureau of Indian Affairs defined Lynn's life also (17 years, 1978-1995). She described those years as "the most challenging," and "an opportunity to work with a small group of very talented and dedicated researchers in the disciplines of anthropology, history, and genealogy." Teamwork and pressure forged friendships which lasted throughout her life.

Lynn and Lee shared many interests, often fueled by travels together, especially 1994-2007. Reunions, both college and USS Foss, DE-59, kept them busy too. Normandy D-Day observances, Cassino, Egypt, China, Petra, and Istanbul were mentioned with extra fondness. Lynn returned to Hawaii with family on a "bucket list" trip in 2024. When asked recently where she would most like to revisit, Hawaii was still at the top of the list. World history, personal history, and natural beauty combined for her there.

Lynn and Lee moved to Grand Rapids, MI in 2022, after 50 years near Washington, DC. Both were deeply grateful for the company of family, now near enough to see often.

Curious, positive, determined, and kind are words of quiet power which must be here for Lynn. Fun too. Always learning, always listening. She often ascribed to luck ("being in the right place at the right time") what others might ascribe to her being a leader who appreciated others, and was never afraid of hard work, often transforming it into memorable teamwork. To all reading who knew her, she would wish to say "thank you" for your friendship.

Lynn was predeceased by her husband Lee N. McMillion, and her parents: William & Neva (Grieves) Cooley. She is survived by her daughters Karen (Clark) McCombs and Amy Goldsmith; daughter-in-law Deborah Goldsmith; four grandchildren, Erin (Scott) Gillis, Patrick (Colleen) McCombs, Jane Goldsmith and Matthew (Nikole) Goldsmith; and one great grandson, Oliver Lee Gillis.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks you consider a donation to one of the many charities she supported monthly. PBS, Doctors Without Borders, the American Cancer Society and Feeding America were among her favorites.