Please join us in remembering and honoring the life of Lyn Wilder, our dear friend and founding family member. We are all deeply saddened by this loss, but know that heaven has welcomed home an incredible man. His exuberance for life, his fun spirit, his wit, and his wisdom, will all be greatly missed. His memorial services will be held on March 4th, the day prior to his 53rd AA recovery birthday.
Memorial contributions may be made in honor of New Directions for Women by visiting our Give Now page. You may also mail a check made payable to New Directions for Women to 2607 Willo Lane, Costa Mesa, CA 92627. Simply write Lyn Wilder on the Memo so we can send the Wilder family your well wishes.
In 2016, Lyn was interviewed at New Directions for Women about his family’s role in founding our organization, over forty years ago. The full transcript and recording of the interview can be found here.
One of our favorite quotes is as follows:
Lyn: Lois was the co-founder of Al-Anon and the wife of the co-founder Bill Wilson of Alcoholics Anonymous. I had the great privilege of meeting her in Arkansas in the early ’70s and then again in Dallas-Fort Worth where we both had participated in a conference. I got to the airport and I was on the same plane with her. She was going to New York which was home. It was a Sunday night. I was going to New York on business. I sat with her. I just asked her the question. I said, Lois, what do you think the most important thing is we have to remember? I’ve never forgotten this. She said, Lyn, the willingness to let go, the willingness to let go. That’s very easy to say but it’s so true and difficult to do sometimes.
We are finding the willingness to let go of Lyn as we know him. However, we will certainly never ever forget his warmth, generosity, and vision.
