Secretariat

Mrs Lynn Halliwell

We are very sorry to let members know that Mrs Lynn Halliwell, former Technician in the Faculty of Biological Sciences, died on 26 December 2013.

Carol Davison, a friend and colleague, has contributed the following tribute to Lynn:

Lynn was appointed to a part-time post in the then Department of Biochemistry in 1985, providing tea and coffee for staff and researchers and preparing lunches for prospective students.  It was not long before she noticed the communal equipment rooms were neglected and suggested she could keep them clean and tidy between her other duties.   Soon she added working in the teaching laboratories, setting out and clearing undergraduate practical classes and research laboratories, cleaning glassware, preparing solutions and maintaining tidiness.

Throughout her twenty-two years’ service, Lynn gave valuable support in all areas of research and teaching in Biochemistry.

However, this was not her only, or even most important, contribution to the work of the department.  Lynn’s presence was appreciated by generations of staff, students and research fellows, not only as a technician, but as a friend.  Academics valued her ability to foster the culture of teamwork and cohesion within the laboratory that is so important to the work of a large research group.  She was generous with her time and a good listener, unfailingly cheerful and always willing to help out.  No social event within the department was complete without her input, always serving the drinks as in that way she could, in her own words, “talk to everyone”. 

She left the University in 2008 and worked for a short time in the laboratories at St James’s University Hospital before retiring in 2010. Following a short illness Lynn passed away on Thursday December 26 2013.

Lynn is survived by her husband, Ken, and sons Chris and Phil.

The funeral service is to be held at 11.40am on Monday 13 January 2014, at Lawnswood Crematorium, Otley Road, Adel, LS16 8AA.  In Lynn’s memory, the flag is to be flown at half-mast on the Parkinson Building on that day.