Lynn Marie Everroad passed away on June 17, 2026, at age 80 in Stevenson, WA.

Lynn was third of the four children of Harry William Everroad and Evelyn Marie Biggs Everroad.

Born in Wichita Falls, TX, with a childhood spanning Oklahoma, Iowa and Indiana. She attended

Valley High School in West Des Moines, IA, graduating from Marion (Indiana) High School in 1964,

where the family moved during her junior year.

Lynn went on to study on academic scholarship at Indiana University. Her impact on the campus

was enormous, becoming a prominent student leader and among the first females elected to the

IU Student Senate in the 1960s (later called IU Student Government).

Everroad was responsible for transforming student government at IU in the 1960s, away from

fraternity and figure-head organizations toward actual representation of all students and their

needs in the academic setting. Her advocacy was ahead of its time, becoming a catalyst and an

inspiration, especially to other female students who stood on the shoulders of her fearless

example and accomplishments.

Key highlights of Lynn’s IU contributions include introducing Bill B-23, A Bill to Open Channels of

Communication. Something every college now takes for granted, this ground-breaking piece of

legislation established the first official pathway of communication and improved transparency

between the administration and the student body at IU. She actively participated in executive

business, voicing stances on student housing policies and casting votes on university “in loco

parentis” (in the place of a parent) regulations, like female curfews, dress codes, and other

restrictive inequalities of this pivotal era.

Everroad's broader academic work was in research with ERIC/CRIER, a special research center

created at IU in 1966 to gather and share information about reading and literacy education. The

10,000 books she would read in her lifetime reflected her intense curiosity and love of knowledge.

Lynn was known for her fierce intellect, wit and independence. After college, she lived briefly in

Colorado, then California in her roles with companies like Dakin Toy Co. and Sara Lee Corp. In

1999 in Hood River, OR she re-discovered her true passion, serving those in need. As the executive

director of the Hood River Memorial Hospital Foundation, she was responsible for founding the

region’s first dialysis facility. Later, creating the Gorge Community Foundation, whose mission

helps fund the long-term needs and opportunities of residents of the Columbia River Gorge area.

Today, their assets total over $10,000,000, representing over eighty funds established by local

families, individuals, and organizations. Lynn was operations director and board member until her

death.

Lynn’s family is deeply saddened by her loss and requests memorials be made to “Lynn’s Fund” at

Gorge Community Foundation, https://gorgecf.org/donations/givewp-donation-form-2/