Lynda Chandler

TOPSHAM – Lynda Chandler, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, friend, athlete, artist, traveler, passed away on Aug. 8, 2023. She was 90.

Born Oct. 17, 1932, the second child of Dr. Lewis H. Hitzrot and Dorothea J. Hitzrot, Lynda grew up on the campus of Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg, Pa. where her father served as the school physician.

Lynda, an outstanding athlete and student, attended nearby George School for her high school years and then Goucher College in Baltimore, Md.

She had a chance meeting with a young Navy man, Stephen Chandler, when she was at Goucher, and after a year-long courtship, the two were married in the beautiful chapel on the Mercersburg campus in November of 1954.

After initially living in Chicago, Ill. where she gave birth to two boys, Lynda and Steve moved the family to Mercersburg, Pa. when Steve took a teaching position at the academy and welcomed their third son. Lynda was instrumental in counseling the first female students admitted to Mercersburg in the late ‘60s. In 1970, she and Steve packed up their family of five and moved to Bethel, where Steve was named Assistant Headmaster at Gould Academy. While Steve was busy in the classroom, Lynda found time to work in a local ski shop and eventually was a Gould Admissions officer in the late ‘80s. She was a true pillar of the school community and any town the family settled in.

Lynda became well-known in Maine as a top tennis player in the state, and she played singles and sometimes mixed doubles in tournaments with Steve. She also loved to spend countless hours in her gardens over the years and then use the fruits of her labors to create tasty meals for family and friends. She delighted in sewing and crafting in general, and never missed an opportunity to show her boys how to properly iron a dress shirt!

Lynda and Steve travelled extensively with their boys throughout their time at Gould, and the two of them continued to indulge their love of travel after Steve’s retirement in 1991. The British Isles were a favorite destination, but also mainland Europe, Greece, Australia, New Zealand, Alaska and Tahiti.

Lynda and Steve settled in the Brunswick/Topsham area and maintained a house and cabin in Bethel. Lynda was diagnosed with late-onset Parkinson’s in 2012 and always dealt the difficult symptoms with grace and courage.

Lynda is survived by his beloved lifelong companion, Stephen, her husband of 69 years; their three sons, Richard (Cyndy), of Falmouth, Mass., Christopher (Rhonda) of Austin, Texas, Peter, of Topsham; five grandsons, Jeffrey (Asya), Jonathan (Ashley), Levi, Aiden, and Ty; and one great-grandson, Alexander.

Lynda was predeceased by her parents, Lewis H. Hitzrot, M.D. and Dorothea J. Hitzrot; and her brother, James Hitzrot, M.D. and his wife, Barbara.

Memories and condolences can be shared at http://www.brackettfh.com.