Lyn Anderson Howell passed away peacefully on September 12, 2026, after a three-month battle with an unexpected stroke occurring on her 74th birthday. Her quick wittedness, beautiful smile that lit up a room, lovely voice with its Durham drawl and her bright caring blue eyes are greatly missed by her many friends and family members.

Lyn is survived by her husband of 48 years Lyle F. Howell of Shallotte NC, stepdaughter Sammi Owens (husband Charles) of Los Alamos NM, step grandchildren Arielle and Christopher Owens of Albuquerque NM, and stepson Lyle “Cameron” Howell (wife Zoe) of Gonzales TX; brother Steven Lee Anderson (wife Joann) of Moseley VA, nephew Robert “Jake” Anderson (wife Lauren), great nephew A.J., great niece Chloe of Henrico VA; and sister Jan D. Anderson of Southport NC; as well as numerous cousins.

Lyn was born 6/3/1952 in Durham, North Carolina to Ruby Beatrice Young Anderson and Holland Lee “Andy” Anderson. Andy and Ruby worked for Ligget and Meyers and the tobacco heritage was an important piece of Lyn’s history. Lyn was the only right-handed golfer in a family of lefties and was always told she “Hit from the wrong side”. Despite that she managed to graduate Durham High School in 1970 and achieved a Bachelor’s degree from East Carolina University in Greenville NC in 1974. Lyn worked at the Duke University branch of Central Carolina Bank before she decided to see the wild west and moved to Aurora CO where she met a true Kansas cowboy and then married him on 12/22/1978 in Aurora, Colorado taking on a 16-year-old stepdaughter and 15-year-old stepson. At 26 years old Lyn was a loving, calming and graceful bridge between Lyle and his kids. Lyn was fascinated by Lyle’s surveying jobs and she landed an office manager job at Meurer, Serafini and Meurer Engineering Firm in Denver where she discovered that she had an aptitude for surveying, engineering, design, permitting, construction and installation. She very quickly learned and excelled at these new activities loving being out in the field and exploring jobs all over the western states. Fiberoptic cables were in their infancy and over the years Lyn oversaw installations from Denver to Philadelphia and all the states between. She was in charge of designing and permitting the infrastructure and communications between the fiberoptic lines and all the big cities and businesses along the way.

Lyle and Lyn worked closely together all her life. To manage these jobs they moved often, living in places including Parker CO, Schaumburg IL, Springfield IL, Indianapolis IN, Colombus OH, Hunt Valley MD, Owings Mill MD, Beaver PA, Rocky Mount NC, Durham NC, and Alpharetta GA. Lyle and Lyn took a few years off chasing a dream of raising Simmental cattle in Lincoln KS before returning to the surveying gypsy lifestyle. They finally settled in Shallotte NC for its many wonderful golf courses and decided to start their own business designing and permitting railroad crossings in the eastern US.

Lyn always enjoyed being outdoors, hunting shells while walking the beach, bird watching and every morning walked her neighborhood rain or shine. She grew up loving fishing even though catching turtles scared her and once she threw back the fishing pole as well as the turtle! Lyn was a fierce competitor winning numerous golf league and tournament championships in the many different locations she lived. She played with a steady, consistent swing and always had fun. Her league buddies recall her great love of neon-colored golf balls and “birdie” juice celebrations. Lyn loved animals from canines to cats to calves. She always named her cats “Miss Kitty” regardless of the sex.

Lyn was extremely close to her father Andy and mother Ruby. Andy died of cancer and Ruby suffered from Alzheimer’s. Lyn was her mother’s caretaker for five years after her dad passed. Lyn herself fought and won a battle with breast cancer, so The American Cancer Society and The Alzheimer’s Foundation were causes dear to her heart. Donations to those or similar organizations in Lyn’s memory are greatly appreciated.

The family would also like to thank the caring staff and nurses at Brunswick Health and Rehab Center in Ash NC for the wonderful support and care they gave to Lyn and her friends and family.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Thistle Golf Course in Sunset Beach, NC on Thursday, September 17, 2026 from 1-4 pm. Lyn will be interred at a later date at Prairie Grove Cemetery in Lincoln, KS.

Online condolences are encouraged and may be sent to the family at www.fulwoodfuneralservice.com

Michael J Fulwood Funeral & Cremation Service