Giving for the greater good.

Lynn De Groot and Donald Voss

Lynn De Groot embraced many roles over the course of her life: child actress and model, dancer and baton twirler (with nearly 300 awards and trophies to her name), banker, wife, patron of the arts and philanthropist, just to name a few. She also served as director of development at Huntington Hospital from 2003 to 2013. Lynn flourished in this role, and believed so strongly in our work that she also became a member of the Legacy Gift Society (LGS) — a group of donors who contribute to the hospital via estate-related gifts — by arranging her own legacy gift prior to her passing in 2022.

“Lynn had a deep understanding of what a hospital can do when it’s fully empowered, and how it can change and save lives,” says her husband, former mayor and councilman of La Cañada Flintridge Donald (Don) Voss. “Her legacy gift was a way for her to make sure that she could continue making a positive impact on the community, even after she was gone.”

Switching gears.

Although Lynn was long passionate about philanthropy, it was not always her career. After earning her Master of Business Administration, she worked for decades in banking, with stints at First Interstate Bank, Wells Fargo and U.S. Trust (which was later acquired by Bank of America).

By 2003, as Don says, she was no longer having fun. She decided to make a change, and turned to her former banking colleague Jaynie Studenmund, who recently completed a four-year term as chair of the board of directors at Huntington. Jaynie arranged to have

Lynn meet with Jane Haderlein, senior vice president of philanthropy and public relations here.

When they met, Jane was impressed. What started as an informational interview moved to creating a new position for Lynn on the Huntington Hospital team as director of development. “Lynn became a leader on our staff and a true asset in working with the hospital’s donors,” says Jane. In fact, her thoughtful stewardship of one particular donor resulted in the single largest estate gift in Huntington’s history.

Meet cute.

Another unexpected encounter would make a significant impact on Lynn’s life as well. Despite having been colleagues at First Interstate Bank for nearly two decades prior, Lynn and Don didn’t formally meet until 2005, at a dinner party. Don’s wife had died the year prior, and he had begun to feel that perhaps it was time to start enjoying life again. Meeting and chatting with Lynn and other guests made him see that maybe there could be someone else out there for him. “I realized then that I should be receptive to opportunities,” says Don.

Some time later, mutual friends set the pair up on a “date that wasn’t a date” at the Hollywood Bowl. One week after that, Don called to ask Lynn out on an actual date. This time they went to the Arroyo Chophouse, where the spark between them was evident. “We had a sensational time,” says Don. They started dating not long afterward.

During a trip to the California Central Coast in 2008, Don proposed to Lynn. She accepted, and they were married on November 14 of that year at The Athenaeum on the California Institute of Technology campus. That day was officially proclaimed “Mr. and Mrs. Voss Day” by then-mayor of La Cañada Flintridge Steve Del Guercio.

The couple traveled often — something Don says he would not have done on his own — taking in the sights in Italy, England, Spain, Portugal, Central Europe, New Zealand and Costa Rica. Together the couple enjoyed dining out, visiting the Central Coast and wine tasting in Paso Robles. They also continued the tradition they had started on that fateful date-that-wasn’t-a-date: attending shows at the Hollywood Bowl. They loved one another dearly. “Lynn was a completely unique person; a combination of traits and characteristics that were hard to imagine in one human being,” says Don. “She was just lovely.”

Giving for the future.

Lynn retired from Huntington in 2013, with plans to spend more time with Don and to do more traveling. Two years later she was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer. “It’s a very rare and strange disease,” Don says. “It can look like pancreatic, colon or liver cancer, so it’s often misdiagnosed. Relatively few people will get it, but early awareness of it can make all the difference for those who do.” Lynn passed away on July 13, 2022.

As a tribute to his beloved wife, Don recently made a cash gift to Huntington Hospital, which qualified him for membership in our President’s Circle. Like Lynn’s gift, Don’s was unrestricted. “She was impressed with all of the different services and programs at Huntington,” he says. “Her thinking was probably much like mine: I trust that the hospital’s decision makers will know best where the funds can be put to good use.”

He is certain that Lynn would encourage all members of the community to make a gift in support of the hospital. “I think that she would talk about how important it is to have a leading hospital in the community,” he says. “You may never need it, but — just like a fire station — it’s important to know it’s there. If you can make a gift like Lynn’s, you can put it to work forever. I know that it gave her great satisfaction to be able to support Huntington and its wonderful work.”

Lynn was a gifted and compassionate professional, an advocate for her friends and loved ones, and a champion for Huntington Hospital. She was not only my colleague in the office of philanthropy, she was also a dear friend, and we maintained a close friendship that continued even after she retired and up until her passing last year. I was humbled by Don’s unwavering support of her during her illness, and I’m deeply appreciative of their shared generosity to Huntington Hospital.

- Jane Haderlein Senior Vice President of Philanthropy and Public Relations

To include Huntington Hospital in your will or to honor a loved one with a President’s Circle gift, visit https://giving.huntingtonhospital.com.