Lynn “Frau” Kussmann

Lynn D. “Frau” Kussmann, age 57, of Beaver Dam, went to her Heavenly home on Friday, January 24, 2020, surrounded by love. A memorial gathering will take place on Saturday, February 15, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., at the Koepsell-Murray Funeral Home in Beaver Dam. A memorial service will follow at the funeral home at 12 p.m., with the Rev. Philip Heyer officiating. Lynn was born the daughter of Ronald “Butch” and Mary (Bartels) Roebke on March 27, 1962, in Van Nuys, California. Her family moved to Wisconsin in 1964, and after some time in Beaver Dam, settled in Oshkosh. She attended Oshkosh West High School, where she found a passion for language and for her future husband, Phillip Kussmann. They began dating when Lynn was 14 and were united in marriage on August 1, 1981, in Oshkosh. Lynn had graduated from Oshkosh West the previous year and continued her education at the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh, earning a bachelor’s degree in education and German in 1984. During her 30-year career, Lynn taught at various schools, including St. Mary’s Springs in Fond du Lac and Mayville High School. After 20 years at Mayville, she taught English as a Second Language at Moraine Park Technical College in Beaver Dam for several years. Lynn was a member of St. Stephen’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Beaver Dam. She loved to read, often reading several books simultaneously. She was a font of useless knowledge, which came in handy for weekly trivia — during which she always wanted to bet it all, a gamble that usually paid off. She dabbled in many crafts, including crochet, knitting, sewing, calligraphy, scrapbooking and most recently, paper quilling. She was a storyteller — she always made her normal, everyday life sound exciting and extravagant. And because she believed that stories are gifts, she gave gifts every day. Although Lynn loved to travel, she hated to fly — but the desire to travel always won out. She traveled to Germany many times with her classes and family; she also traveled to South Africa, London and Paris, as well as around the U.S. She was happiest in warm climates, because as she always said, she was a “California trophy wife” and just wasn’t made for Wisconsin winters. She will be deeply missed by her husband of 38 years, Phillip; her daughters Sara (Curtis) Schmitt of Oconomowoc, Christa (Jason) Keel of Akron, OH, and Elizabeth of Beaver Dam; her “best boy” — her grandson, Finley Schmitt; her sister Lisa Roebke of Waupaca; and her father Butch (Val) of Oshkosh; as well as by her furbabies Jellybean, Zeus and Wicket. Lynn is further survived by other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her mother, Mary Roebke, and her grandparents, Warren and Agnes Bartels and Harvey and Rose Roebke. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the World Literacy Foundation (worldliteracyfoundation.org/donate). The family would also like to thank the nurses at Hillside Home Care & Hospice for their compassionate care.