Erin A. Chance Lincoln passed away on December 22, 2023, at the age of 80 years old. Erin was raised in Ferndale and graduated from Ferndale High School. She knew from an early age she wanted to be a registered nurse and spent many weekends playing the piano for her father’s band at various dance halls on Friday and Saturday nights followed by playing the organ for the church on Sundays in order to save for college. At the age of 18, she rode the bus north to Portland, Oregon and went to Emmanuel Hospital School of Nursing for the next two and a half years before graduating in 1964. She practiced nursing and health care administration for over forty years as an operating room RN, followed by her ministry as the Parish Nurse at Bethesda Lutheran Church in Eugene Oregon until she herself needed care.

In addition to her career in healthcare, Erin was profoundly proud of her Danish heritage. She was a 65-year member of Fjelddroning Lodge #131, Danish Sisterhood of America.

Erin was married for forty years to Herbert Lincoln, had two daughters; Nancy Lincoln and Lara Lincoln Savoie, as well as her sons-in-law Joseph Jean-Claude Ngando and Lee Savoie, who cared for her in her later years as she succumbed to the “long goodbye” of Alzheimer’s. She had three grandchildren Sarah and Brock Savoie, and Anna-Sophia Ngando Lincoln. Erin is preceded in death by her parents Paul and Erla Chance, and her younger sister Diane Chance Moran. Her surviving youngest sister, Polly Chance Stemwedel, and Aunt Eunice Sanborn still live in her hometown where she wishes to lay to rest.

On February 18 in Ferndale, interment will occur graveside at 12 p.m. at the Ferndale Cemetery with a memorial service to be held at 2 p.m. at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church. In lieu of flowers please consider donating to The McCourt Foundation that raises funds to cure Neurological diseases. Memorial gifts can be made online by visiting mccourtfoundation.org

Her daughters would like to thank the caregivers of Element Care at the Market Street location in Lynn, Massachusetts for their incredible care of their mother during the last three years of her life. Donations in her honor can be made to the Element Care P.A.C.E. site, Market Street, written out to Element Care and with “Activities” written in the memo section of the check while sending it to 62 Market Street Lynn MA 01901.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Erin Lincoln’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.