Lynne Harrahy

Lynne Renee (Meister) Harrahy, 59

December 19, 1960 – December 16, 2020

Nederland, CO – Lynne Renee (Meister) Harrahy, 59 of Nederland, CO passed away Wednesday, December 16, 2020 at her home in Nederland.

She was born in Fort Benning, Georgia the daughter of Colonel Melvin Eugene Meister, USA, Retired and the late Shirley Ann Twedell. Although her family was stationed throughout the US, Lynne considered Oahu, Hawaii her home and she graduated from Leilehua High School in Wahiawa where she met her lifelong friend and future maid of honor Cathy Matthews. She continued her education at the University of Hawaii in Manoa earning a B.S. in Recreation and Kinesiology. She was an avid swimmer, swimming coach, and lifeguard and worked in the Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) departments at Fort Shafter and then at the Pearl Harbor Submarine Base, managing their seven pools and lifeguards. She transferred from the MWR department into a Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard Health and Safety apprenticeship program and subsequently worked in the shipyard’s Health and Safety department.

She met her future husband Lieutenant David Paul Harrahy, USN while coaching Sub Base Pearl Harbor athletes for the swimming portion of “Tin Man” (now known as Olympic length) triathalons. Dave and Lynne were married at the Sub Base Chapel on May 26, 1990 and held their wedding reception at the Halekulani on Waikiki. Dave left the Navy in July 1990 and they honeymooned in Europe in August and then moved to Colorado in September.

Lynne worked at Hauser Chemical Research in Boulder, Colorado heading their Health and Safety Department from the fall of 1990 through mid 1997 when she left to start her own consulting firm, EHS Solutions. Lynne provided Health and Safety consulting services to Adaptec and Particle Measuring through EHS until 2006 when she joined the University of Colorado at Boulder as a Utilities Analyst. She worked in the Housing and Dining Services department and in the Facilities Management Utilities and Energy Services department until early 2020 when she went on medical disability.

She will be profoundly missed by her loving husband Dave, and all those who had the pleasure to know her well. She is survived by her father Mel and stepmother Jan, brother Jeff and spouse Joan, mother in law Doris, brother in law Mike and spouse Nancy, sister in law Diane and spouse Harry, brother in law Stephen and brother in law Mark and spouse Hanna as well as many loving cousins, nieces and nephews. (Some of which knew her by her self-proclaimed title as “Crazy Aunt Lynne”.) Lynne was preceded in death by her mother Shirley, her older brother Dan and her father in law Don.

Lynne was a kind and generous soul who always lit up a room when she entered. She had a great wit and was the driving force behind lots of laughs and great stories. She enjoyed mentoring students at the University and helping them to develop workplace and life skills. She loved all animals but especially dogs and whales and enjoyed walks with the dogs in the forests, strolls on the beach and whale watching activities. Lynne enjoyed traveling with her husband and had the good fortune to visit many places including England, France, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain, Austria, Italy, Greece, New Zealand, the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands and of course Hawaii.

She bravely battled Lyme disease, Pulmonary Embolisms, Breast Cancer, compound leg fractures with infections, and Vasculitis. She was hopeful, fought valiantly to regain her health and was optimistic for a good outcome, but sadly ran out of time when her heart suddenly stopped. She was loved by many and will be greatly missed.

A celebration of life memorial service will be held in Colorado once the pandemic subsides and a second service and scattering of ashes will be held in Hawaii.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Lynne’s memory to any of the following organizations:
- American Heart Association ( https://www.heart.org )
- International Lyme and Associated Diseases Educational Foundation (General Fund) ( https://iladef.org )
- Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Research ( https://www.komen.org )
- Boulder County Humane Society ( https://www.boulderhumane.org )
- Save the Whales ( https://savethewhales.org )