Rollin Lynn “Lynn” Woods, 79, of Fort Wayne, died peacefully at his home on Nov. 6, 2026.
Lynn was born to Myron and Mary Woods. He spent his early years in Fort Wayne and on a farm in Quincy, Michigan, before the family settled near Zanesville, Indiana. During his school years, Lynn helped work at the family owned Woods Meat Locker Plant, though not always willingly. He attended Union School in Wells County and then Lancaster Central when the two schools consolidated. Music filled his school years. He played tenor saxophone in the marching and jazz bands, played piano with the jazz band and marched with an independent drum and bugle corps. He graduated from Lancaster Central in 1965.
After training in earthmoving and heavy equipment operation at Greer Technical Institute in Joliet, Illinois, Lynn joined the Navy Seabees. He served 13 months in Vietnam near the DMZ in 1967–68. He was later stationed at the Navy pilot training center in Brownsville, Texas, and then at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he operated some of the largest cranes in the world at the time.
Back in civilian life, Lynn went to work for Martin Construction, where he operated several large cranes. He later taught heavy equipment operation. Next, he became operations manager building large mobile home parks in Fort Wayne, as well as in Findlay and Lima, Ohio. That work took him to Bradenton, Florida, as vice president of operations for Floridiana Construction, Inc. The company mainly built mobile home parks and also did some site preparation for condominiums. When it moved to Lafayette, Indiana, in the late 1970s, he moved with it.
He later started his own construction company. It began with open drainage projects and running the Huntington and Whitley County landfills. After Lynn earned his hazmat certification, the business grew into removing underground gas tanks and cleaning up contaminated soil for gas companies across Indiana and Ohio. He retired in 2009.
Lynn loved being outdoors, whether he was on a hunting trip to Montana or Canada or riding dune buggies and four-wheelers with friends on the Michigan dunes. He enjoyed country music and the music of David Foster. One song stood above the rest for him: “The Prayer,” as Andrea Bocelli and Katharine McPhee sang it.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
He is survived by his wife of 56 years, the former Sharon Kunkel; his sons, Christopher (Sonya) Woods of Goodyear, Arizona, and Michael (Maggie) Woods of New Ross, Indiana; five grandchildren, Thomas, Lennon, Bella, Amelia and Oliver; his sister, Reida Zezula of Fort Wayne; and his brother, Doug (Debbie) Woods of Markle.
Visitation will be held from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, at the Thoma/Rich, Lemler Funeral Home in Bluffton, and for one hour prior to the service on Friday.
A funeral service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, at the Thoma/Rich, Lemler Funeral Home in Bluffton.
Burial will take place at Prairie View Cemetery in Tocsin.
In lieu of flowers, the family prefers memorials may be made to Elara Caring Hospice, Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital or Fort Wayne VA Center for Development and Civic Engagement Department Volunteer Section and directed through the funeral home.
Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to the care of the Lemler family of Thoma/Rich, Lemler Funeral Home in Bluffton. Friends may share online condolences with the family at www.thomarich.com.