Franklin “Lynn” G. Lourenco, beloved father, grandfather and husband, passed away on September 4, 2026 from complications of type 2 diabetes.

Lynn was born on July 3, 1943 in Scotia to Audrey and Adelino “Babe” Lourenco, the oldest of three children. He spent his entire life in the Eel River Valley, where he lived in Fortuna, Scotia and his home of Ferndale. He attended the Assumption Catholic School and Ferndale High School, where he lettered in basketball and track and field, and was president of the French club – a fact that posthumously shocked his family, as they’d never heard him speak a word of French. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Humboldt State University, where he studied history and geography.

In his youth, Lynn survived both the 1955 and 1964 floods. At 21 years old, Lynn and his family spent three days in the hayloft of their barn during the ‘64 flood, as debris-filled water rushed below them. The family was eventually rescued, but they lost everything, including their herd of cows. Lynn went on to recount his experience in several news interviews over the years.

In 1969, Lynn met his wife Carol at The Branding Iron bar in Eureka, where she immediately took note of his broad shoulders. They went on their first date to the drive-in movies where Lynn proceeded to fall asleep, a trend that persisted throughout his life, as he frequently napped through family gatherings, sporting events and every western he ever watched.

Throughout his life, Lynn worked hard to provide for his family. He was employed at the Humboldt Creamery for nearly 20 years and recalled working one shift that lasted a full 48 hours. In 1985, Lynn took over his family’s dairy in Ferndale, earning nominations for Dairy of the Year several times. He took pride in his mixed herd of Holstein and Jersey cows and his beloved barn cat, Poofance, who would walk by his side to bring the cows in. Lynn later went on to work at Pacific Lumber Company in Scotia for many years until he retired back to Ferndale. Unsurprisingly, his retirement did not stick, as he promptly found his dream job at the Ferndale Museum. He was passionate about the small town’s history and would take the time to offer personal tours to tourists and locals alike. He loved to entertain visitors with his extensive knowledge of the town, amaze children with the magical self-playing piano and offer free ancestry checks to all who were interested.

Genealogy was a passion of Lynn’s, as he enjoyed tracing the family lineage back generations to the Azores and beyond. He celebrated his Portuguese heritage every year by eating his weight in beans, linguisa and sopas at the Holy Ghost Celebration at the Portuguese Hall. He determinedly attended his last celebration in May of 2026.

Lynn was an avid sports fan, supporting the 49ers, Giants and Warriors, as well as Ferndale Wildcat football, where he could often be found standing on the sidelines for home games. He was an athlete in his youth, playing center for his high school basketball team thanks to an alleged six-inch growth spurt in the summer before his senior year. He claimed the Franny Givens trophy, a scholarship given to the best scholar athlete. His proudest athletic accomplishment, though, was winning back-to-back Egg Toss Championships with his son at the Fortuna Rodeo in 1984 and 1985.

For the last 30 years, Lynn was known by most of his family members as “Geepa,” an original name he made up for himself when his first granddaughter was born.

In his later years, there were three things in life that kept Lynn going: Carol’s home cooking, diet Pepsi and his cats. Lynn had a soft spot for stray cats, adopting many over the years. He would feed any cat that showed up on his doorstep… even if it belonged to someone else. It would bring him joy to know that a stray or needy animal was shown kindness in his memory.

Lynn passed away around 6 p.m. on the Friday before Labor Day. He finally decided to take some well-earned time off.

Lynn was preceded in death by his parents Audrey and Babe Lourenco, brother-in-law Ed Esty and numerous friends that he missed dearly. He is survived by his wife of 56 years Carol Lourenco; his children Andra (Keith) Stringer, David (Molly) Lourenco; grandchildren Sydney Stringer, Samantha Stringer, Sophie Stringer, Mason Lourenco and Nolan Lourenco; his sisters Susan Esty of Rancho Cordova and Patti (Jim) Cady of Fortuna; and many cousins, nieces and nephews and grand-nieces and -nephews.

The family would like to thank the home health nurses who cared for Lynn in his last months, as well as the hardworking staff at Redwood Memorial and St. Joseph Hospitals. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Ferndale Volunteer Fire Department or Humboldt Humane’s Critters Without Litters at Fernbridge.

A celebration of life, “The Life of Lynn,” will be held on Saturday, October 3 at Ferndale Town Hall from 12-3 p.m.