If you passed through any neighborhood where Lynn Bratlie made her home and heard a sound like a peal of brass bells, a raucous orchestral interlude and a riot of birdsong, it was certainly Lynn and her loud, joyous laughter.
Lynn was born in 1949 at the Naval Air Station in Pensecola, Florida, to Arthur and Beatrice Bratlie. She was raised in Morris, Minnesota, until age fourteen, when her father joined the Alaska Department of Fish & Game and flew the family in a single engine plane to Anchorage. Lynn studied education and choral music at Pacific Lutheran University in Washington, and returned to Alaska with her husband to raise their five children. She accompanied Lutheran services on the organ, directed church choirs and taught music to children for more than thirty years.
Lynn delighted in the dramatic landscape of Alaska. She was brave (some would say stubborn) and once, while on a college tour to Europe, snuck up to Notre Dame’s Grand Organ to play ‘A Mighty Fortress is Our God’ (written by Martin Luther in revolt against Catholicism in 1529), almost certainly the only time this controversial song ever resounded through the rafters of Paris’s famous cathedral. She was an incredible cook who valued good food and close friendships. If you have tasted a flaky pie crust at the hands of her children, it is because Lynn taught them to bake it from scratch.
Lynn died peacefully in Everett, Washington, on August 8, 2021. She is survived by her brother John Bratlie of Bainbridge Island, WA; her ex-husband Sandy Simpson of Santa Fe, NM; her children: Dale Simpson of Lynnwood, WA; Mary Simpson of Brooklyn, NY; Benjamin Simpson of Denver, CO; Kathleen Korevec of San Francisco, CA; Bonnie Melius of Portland, OR; and her grandchildren: Jackson, Andrew and Fionn Crockett; Emilia Bourgoyne; Dale Garrett; Otto Melius; and Finn Korevec.
A memorial service will take place in a few months as we watch the rates of Covid-19 recede and are able to travel and gather safely, together. Please leave your contact information on this site to be invited (if we are not in touch with you already).
