Died Friday, March 3, 2000, at St. Francis Hospital, Poughkeepsie. Mrs. McKinney was born in Washington, DC, the daughter of Charles and Dorothy Peters. She studied painting and ceramics and received a B.S. in design from the University of Michigan. After working as an exhibits artist in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC, she studied ceramics under Maja Grotel... and was awarded the degree of Master of Fine Arts (MFA) by Cranbrook Academy of Art. Her family knew her best as a loving and supportive wife, mother, and grandmother. She leaves her husband of 40 years, John McKinney; two daughters: Heather Lynette McKinney Rodiger (Sudbury,Massachusetts; and her husband William Rodiger) and Dr. Katherine Lynette McKinney (Fountainville, Pennsylvania; and her husband Brian Gery); two grandsons: Jonathan Rodiger and James Rodiger; and a brother, Frank Peters (Potomac, Maryland). She particularly enjoyed the family being together, sharing love and joyous times. Mrs. McKinney was very active in the community. She served as an elder at the First Presbyterian Church of Poughkeepsie; taught Sunday School and the communicants' class for many years. She loved to arrange flowers to beautify the church. She was active in Tres Dias, a Christian renewal movement, serving on the national board of directors. She served her Lord on over 20 Tres Dias teams as leader of the weekend, as music director and in most other capacities. She was active in a bible study group and in Christian support groups. She served on the board of the Grace Smith House, a shelter for battered women. She brought a child from the Childrens Home into her home at Christmas. She worked as an artist, teaching at Dutchess Community College for over 25 years. Always interested in learning new techniques and processes, she returned to postgraduate work, this time in metal- working at SUNY New Paltz. Then, using her understanding as an artist in silver and gold, she created the gold and silversmithing program at Dutchess Community College. Her students knew her best for the way she supported and encouraged them as people. At Dutchess Community College she served as Chair of the Instructional Staff Council (ISC), a member of the DCC President’s Advisory Council and of the Executive Committee, Professional Staff Organization (PSO). Her principal creativity was in clay and metal. As a ceramic artist, her interests were in producing sensitive and graceful functional forms in clay. As a silversmith artist, she was most interested in producing works of cloisonne. Other artistic interests were a wall hanging commissioned by the First Presbyterian Church, numerous banners, photography, weaving, drawing, and painting. As an artist she was most enthusiastic when creating forms in clay. She enjoyed producing chalices for communion services. She had her own Internet web site at http://www.McKinneyCreations.com. In the last few years, she enjoyed sailing with her husband on her sailboat down the Hudson River from the Poughkeepsie Yacht Club around Manhattan and out to Stonington, CT. She enjoyed living on her sailboat during the summer at their mooring in Stonington Harbor. Much of Lynette McKinney is summed up in her philosophy of art and creativity: "My philosophy of creativity is that God is moving each of us by the beauty and power of his creation to feel love and wholeness. We respond to that in different ways. Some people respond with beautiful music, inspirational writing, or high drama. My response is to create expressions translating that feeling of beauty, power, love, and wholeness into clay and metal forms. I want to create beauty in a world that has the potential for so many things that are not beautiful. I find excitement in clay as the form develops on the wheel and continues with the challenge of glazing to create color and texture that completes the form. In metal, I seek to create beauty by resolving the contradiction of softness of line with the rigidity of the material."Calling hours are 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM, Tuesday, March 7, 2000, at Schoonmaker Funeral Home, 72 S. Hamilton St., Poughkeepsie. The funeral service will be at 11:00 AM, Wednesday, March 8, 2000, at the First Presbyterian Church, 100 Cannon St., Poughkeepsie. The family requests that donations be made in lieu of flowers to The Grace Smith House, c/o 20 Slate Hill Drive, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603- 5537, or to the Lyme Disease Foundation, Inc., One Financial Plaza 18th Floor, Hartford, CT 06103
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