Teacher Lynne Douglas lived a robust life… rich with family, friends, travelling and musicals, all washed down with a not inconsiderable amount of shopping and Sauvignon Blanc.
Lynne Douglas pictured with grandson Ben Douglas when both went as pirates to Leamington School’s book day.
Stories of her escapades lifted some of the sadness at her packed farewell at the Raleigh Street Christian Centre last week.
Lynne’s sudden passing on December 29 left a sense of shock … just two weeks earlier, she had been cruising the Murray River with her closest ‘Thelma and Louise’ type mate Nola Hickey. They were cooking up travel plans for 2025, carefully crafted around Lynne’s work schedule as a relief teacher at Leamington School.
She had been teaching there for roughly 40 years. After retiring as a full-timer at the end of 2014 she continued as a reliever and, in September 2023, received an NZEI award recognising 50 years of service to teaching.
In a story The News did at the time of that award, Lynne said she was deeply humbled and said she still derived a great deal of pleasure from teaching.
LYNNE DOUGLAS: 7.5.1949 – 29.12.2024*
Leamington School principal Mike Malcolm described her as a ‘dear friend and highly respected colleague, a vibrant, active and sharp member of the team’.
“She never lost her ability to have fun with children, make allowances for each child’s quirks, and engage children in meaningful learning tasks,” he told The News. “We will let things settle and then discuss how we will ensure the impact of Lynne continues across our school.”
She took her passion for the profession to a new level. Son Campbell said at the service that his mum had ‘forged friendships, mentored younger staff and impacted thousands of students for the better’ over her four-decade teaching career.
“She wanted to see kids progress and succeed,” he said. “She always understood that not every child had the same starting point.”
Lynne Douglas, right, was at the heart of her extended family.
Lynne was born in Hawera in 1949. Taranaki always held a special place in her heart, which is why sons Matt and Campbell have pledged to take her home.
After completing her teacher training in Palmerston North, she returned to Opunake for her first teaching job. It was there she met the boys’ dad, Bob Douglas and the family was started. Matt and Campbell remember halcyon days filled with laughter, wine, card games, dancing… and their mum’s spoon playing skills. It was also there that the Douglas pair met Nola and Paddy Hickey, beginning what became a lifelong friendship.
The Douglas family moved to Cambridge in 1975 and after taking time to re-settle the boys, Lynne joined the Leamington School teaching staff. She was the antithesis of ‘all work and no play’. She enjoyed staff parties and coffee mornings, and together with her teaching chums, would see off most weeks with a Friday wine at Onyx.
She was said to have possessed a ‘restless energy’ and outside school, was an intrepid traveller. It was a passion she often spliced with her love for musical theatre and shopping her socks off.
Her brother Greg said she was always happy, never judgemental, while collective memories from her grandchildren celebrated her special personalised gifts, her skill at Articulate and Cornhole games, and the oddball jobs she sometimes gave them.
One of those Friday friends reckoned Lynne was about six degrees of separation from most people in Cambridge, so widely was she known.
“She was a dedicated professional and a fantastic friend,” they said, “and boy, could she whip up an amazing shortbread and a mean vegetable soup!”
*The print version of this story incorrectly said Lynn Douglas died on 29 December 2025.
Lynne Douglas pictured on one of her many travels.
