Lynne Kemper
Artist, Analyst, Adjunct Instructor - Frances (Lynne) Kemper
(Nov 27, 1937 - Oct 27, 2023)
Lynne Kemper suffered from an acute respiratory failure and passed away after a short illness on 27 October 2023. She is survived by Ronald, her husband of 64 years, daughter Deborah Kemper Forney, son Curtis Kemper, eight grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, and her sister Tina Marquart.
During one of her assignments, she was in Japan with her husband, where she served as an analyst and as adjunct instructor for the National Cryptologic School. She also pursued her interests in Yuzen: traditional Japanese fabric dyeing; Shodo: Japanese calligraphy; and Sumi-e: Japanese Ink painting. Her Shodo instructor submitted one of her works to a Kanagawa prefecture-wide competition and she received an award at the Ancient Calligraphy Exhibition. The judge, after looking at the signature on the scroll, was overheard commenting that ‘surely this was done by a Japanese artist, not by a gaijin (foreigner).”
After her retirement from NSA in 1996, she expanded her art interests to include wood carving and painting lifelike songbirds and individual bird feathers. Her carved feathers won first, second and third place awards in Florida Winter Woodcarving Competitions and awards at the Cape Coral Art League where she taught classes in drawing and design. While her carved feathers were on display at a local gallery, the gallery owner was visited by two officers from the Florida Department of Natural Resources stating that she was to be arrested and fined for possessing and displaying a feather from an American eagle. Even though the display stated it was a carved wooden feather, the officers required the owner to open the case so they could feel the feather. Much to their chagrin, it was a carved wooden feather. What a high compliment to Lynne for the exactness of her work. Examples of her carving can be seen at lynnekemperstudio.com.
Lynne was a long-time member of the Phoenix Society.
A memorial service will be scheduled in the future at Faith Presbyterian Church in Cape Coral, FL. Any donation in her name should be directed to Hope Hospice of Cape Coral.
