HELEN (LYN) MAGAZINER KRONER

1927-2016

Helen (Lyn) Magaziner Kroner, 88, passed away in Medford Oregon on April 27, 2016 in Medford, Ore. She was born on July 30, 1927 to Adolf and Elisabeth Sophia Roeder (neé Herman) in Atlantic City, N.J. It was there Lyn’s father died a tragic death when Lyn was 12.

The family moved to Philadelphia Penn. where Lyn attended high school. After high school, she taught dancing at an Arthur Murray studio in Philadelphia and performed as a dancer and actress during the summers in the Pocono Mountains. It was during this time that she met Jack Magaziner, a musician in a band she worked with. In 1949, they married and a year later had a son, Mark.

In 1955, they moved to Houston and opened a hairstyling solon. Lyn started attending classes at the University of Houston majoring in art and drama and was active in theater taking many leading roles. She also attended classes and performed in plays at Rice University. She received a scholarship to study at Houston Museum of Modern Art.

After the death of her husband in 1968, Lyn focused her studies in art education and graduated cum laude from the University of Houston. She accepted a teaching position at the high school in Fort Bend, a suburb of Houston. .

At the encouragement of her sister, Ayn Hoffa, Lyn returned to the theater, where she met Earl Kroner. They were married on May 10, 1969. They moved to Connecticut in 1973 settling in the town of Ridgefield where they lived for the next 29 years. There they enjoyed entertaining, and participating in an AAUW gourmet dining group. They also enjoyed traveling extensively locally and internationally. Lyn taught at Wilton High School and then New Fairfield High School in Connecticut. She returned to her education, working on her graduate degree at Western Connecticut State University, including art studies at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris, France. She was a participating member of the Brookfield Craft Center, The Connecticut Guild of Craftsmen, The Ridgefield Guild of Artists, and a member and docent for the Aldridge museum of Modern Art.

In 1977, Lyn was devastated when her son, Mark Magaziner, was killed in a boating accident. In a Memorial to her son, they established The Mark Magaziner Memorial Fund (now a Fellowship) at the University of Houston’s Graduate School of Social Work offering fellowship awards.

Lyn retired from teaching in 1989 to enjoy her home, cooking, and travel. Due to advancing age and Lyn’s failing health, Lyn and Earl, moved in 2002 to The Rogue Valley Manor, a Certified Continuing Care Community (CCRC), in Medford, Oregon. This location allowed them to be closer to each of their families, Lyn’s in central California, and Earl’s in Portland, Oregon. Lyn had suffered a long period of debilitating illness before her death.

Lyn is survived by her devoted husband, Earl and six of her seven nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her first husband, Jack Magaziner; her son, Mark Magaziner; her Brother, Herman Roeder; and her sister, Ayn Hoffa.