7/21/2026

Dear Faculty and Staff Colleagues,

We write to share the sad news of the death of Professor Emerita Lynette (Lynn) Chandler.  As a long-time and beloved member of our campus community, Lynn had a profound and lasting impact on students, colleagues, and the very fabric of Puget Sound. She joined the university as an assistant professor in 1979, developed our pediatrics curriculum, and served as Director of Physical Therapy from 1986 to 1994, before retiring as a professor in 1997. Throughout her years here, she offered invaluable mentorship and warm friendship to so many, and her dedication to teaching — whether in pediatric assessment and treatment, anatomy, or neurorehabilitation for adults — shaped generations of physical therapy and occupational therapy students.

Lynn’s influence extended far beyond our campus. She brought extraordinary clinical experience to her work, having served as a Seattle school therapist and, earlier, as a member of the second class of the Peace Corps, where she worked in rehabilitation in Costa Rica. She was a clinical faculty member at the University of Washington Child Development and Mental Retardation Center for seven years, and it was there that she and colleagues developed the Movement Assessment of Infants (MAI) in 1980 — a groundbreaking tool that allowed for early identification of movement delays in children such as cerebral palsy. Before her work, children with such disorders were often not identified until they struggled to walk, which delayed critical intervention. Lynn’s efforts enabled earlier and more effective care, and she taught the MAI across the globe, including in Australia, Switzerland, Jordan, and Costa Rica, where it was translated into Spanish. In recognition of her contributions, she was made a Fellow of the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine in 1985.

Even after retiring from Puget Sound, she continued her research and teaching at College Misericordia and the University of Pittsburgh, and later worked at The Children’s Hospital in Denver, where she and colleagues established norms for the Movement Assessment of Children with support from the National Institutes of Health.

Lynn had friends, relatives, and colleagues around the world, and so in lieu of a formal in-person gathering, there will be a Zoom memorial this coming September. If you would like to be informed when that is scheduled, please email dwright@pugetsound.edu, and we will share details as they become available.

Lynn is survived by her long-time friend, Margo Holm. Cards, memories, and condolences may be sent to Margo at 1515 Dock Street #407, Tacoma, WA 98402.

Please join us in remembering Lynn, honoring her extraordinary legacy in physical therapy and at Puget Sound, and holding her dear ones in our hearts during this time of loss and transition. She will be deeply missed, and her presence will long be felt in the lives she touched.

With gratitude,

Dave Wright '96 | University Chaplain
Drew Kerkhoff | Provost