Lynn Padgett

Lynn was the middle daughter of Charles H. Spoor and Norma Jean O’Connor Spoor. She is survived by her loving and dedicated husband David; children Juliet Jean Sweet of Parker, Colorado, C. Devon Padgett of Las Vegas, Nevada and Piper Lynn Low of Westminster, Colorado, and grandchildren Nathan and Tyler Ball, and Lyric and Legend Low. She is also survived by her sisters Patricia Ann Horning and Sharon Sue Gille.

As a child growing up in East Wichita Lynn had many passions and interests. She loved to ride with her father to the oil fields where he would check on his producing wells and wildcat drilling activity. In her middle-childhood her great love was her horse, Strawberry, spending countless hours with him at Bridle and Saddle Farm where he was boarded. She also had a gift for music and especially for drums. As a later teen she followed this passion and became the beautiful and talented drummer for The Bird and the Worm, a Wichita band which acquired local fame. In these formative years she attended local Catholic schools: Blessed Sacrament; St. Thomas Aquinas; and Mt. Carmel Academy, graduating in 1969.

In 1970 Lynn met future husband Dave on a Valentine’s Day blind-date at Kansas University. Little did either of them know that the silly small talk they shared as Santana’s first release played in the background, would result in a 46-year love story many would dream of, but few could ultimately match. They were married in Wichita at Eastminister Presbyterian Church on June 7, 1975. After two years in Wichita with Lynn working as an accounting clerk for a subsidiary of the Pizza Hut Corporation and Dave as an engineer for Boeing Aircraft Corporation, they decided a change of scenery would be good for their young family, so they packed up and headed west to Colorado to pursue new, but undefined opportunities. Lynn went to work for Michigan Wisconsin Pipeline in the Property Administration Department, the beginning of a multi-decade roller coaster career in and out of the energy industry that she loved. At the same time Dave transitioned from engineering to the oil and gas industry with a small exploration and production company.

A multi-tasker before the term was popular, Lynn attended Regis College on a part-time basis, ultimately earning her BA Degree in Business, while balancing the responsibilities with Dave of raising and providing for their children. Filling the gaps during industry downturns, Lynn always found or created meaningful avocations to help others; from launching Pathfinders, a group for displaced professionals, to board positions with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Yellow Ribbon Project for emotionally disturbed teenagers.

These philanthropic endeavors get to the core of who Lynn was as a person; someone with a big heart for others. Lynn never passed up an opportunity to help people in their trials and support them in their dreams. Countless lives that were changed through her kindness, enthusiasm, support, and generosity.

During her 35-year career Lynn worked for a number of oil and gas companies, finally retiring as a Senior Land Advisor from Anadarko Petroleum Corporation in 2014. At that point Dave and Lynn decided to trade their snow shovels for beach chairs and moved from Colorado to Sanibel, Florida. Once in Florida Lynn felt compelled once again to do for others, joining ongoing efforts to raise funds and support for the Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida.

At this point Lynn, such a beautiful, vibrant, intelligent, and caring woman that her family already misses so much, had her life turned upside down. Lynn was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer, which she beat back over the following two years, when she was deemed to be 98% cancer-free. Next, she experienced a loss of balance and some infrequent stumbling incidents that she initially thought were related to neuropathy from the chemotherapy treatments. Initially misdiagnosed as a treatable condition called CIDP, Lynn’s condition continued to deteriorate, and she and Dave sought out a second opinion. Unfortunately, that was March of 2020 and all the hospitals and clinics that were qualified to see and evaluate her condition were shut down due to the Covid pandemic. Eventually, the University of Colorado Hospital in Denver bent the rules and in May 2020, after a thorough and painful evaluation, the doctors told Lynn that she had Lou Gehrig’s Disease, or ALS, a cruel and fatal condition with no treatment and no cure.

Lynn spent the final months and weeks of her life fighting ALS with her clear mind, even as she lost all her physical capabilities. Her courageous battle is a testament to how much she loved and valued her family, and life itself. Everything Lynn did, she did with all her heart and might.

Even as her body failed her, her spirit kept her fighting to live so that she could be with her loving family and experience the small graces of each day. With her husband by her side in the comfort of her home, her big heart finally gave out on the evening of June 18th and our precious angel gained her wings on the aptly named Angel Drive on her beloved Sanibel Island. She will be missed greatly.

In lieu of flowers, Lynn’s family requests donations be made in her name to: Sean M. Healy and AMG Center for ALS at Mass General, Boston, Massachusetts as Lynn was a fierce advocate for ALS Treatment & Cures as none currently exist.

Religious Services will be held Friday July 9th at Ave Maria Catholic Church in Parker, Colorado (9056 East Parker Road), with a rosary at 10:30 followed by Mass. A Celebration of Life will commence at 1:00 at Casa Vallarta Mexican Restaurant, 4002 South Parker Road, Aurora, CO 80014

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