Lynne Meservey

Lynne L. Meservey, 79, of Marshall died on Monday May 10, 2021 at Eaton County Care Facility in Charlotte, Michigan following a long illness.

Lynne was born on September 18, 1941 in Highland Park to Hugh and Luan (Kennedy) Dorman. She graduated from Olivet High School in 1959. She then attended the University of Michigan, and later would graduate from Olivet College with a degree in early childhood education.

Lynne was a founding member of the Marshall Preschool, and later would run a childcare business out of her home. Lynne was one of the founding members of the Marshall Jaycee Auxiliary where she served twice as President of the group. Working with the Calhoun County Juvenile Court staff and the late Judge John Brundage, Lynne spearheaded a new project called J-Club. Its purpose was to show young girls that they can do something for their community and take pride in doing it. J-Club received an award in 1975 from the National Association of Juvenile Court. From the Junior Miss Pageant to planting flowers around town, and being involved in the Burn Center Project, Lynne and J-Club left their mark on the community.

In 1978 she moved to Texas with her daughter, Lisa. Lynne immersed herself in the childcare business. She started out with National Childcare Centers and Daybridge Learning Centers. Lynne was an incredible leader, a visionary, and a woman aware of trends before their time. She anticipated the need for working mothers to have reliable child care near their workplace in order to return to work quickly after birth. She also knew the stress and the complexity mothers faced when leaving their children at such a young age in the care of others.

In September of 1986, with $1000 in the bank, Lynne Meservey and partners Kay Albrecht and Jackie Legg began a journey to create a high-quality early childhood for children under three in the Galleria area of Houston TX. They created HeartsHome Early Learning Center and opened its doors successfully while welcoming children from 6 weeks to 3 years of age and their families. The program at HeartsHome included gradual enrollment, open door parent visitation, parent support for families by age group, and frequent teacher/parent communication. HeartsHome was continually accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children and was recognized as meeting and exceeding early childhood guidelines. To this day, a group of HeartsHome children and their teachers communicate with each other, and former staff connect with each other periodically.

HeartsHome started small with 40 children. Over time, HeartsHome grew and expanded the number of infants and toddler served while also growing to allow siblings to stay together through age five. After many years in operation, HeartsHome was acquired by Bright Horizons Early Learning Centers. Lynne joined the Bright Horizons team to design and help build childcare centers in major metropolitan areas. She ended up building over 15 schools around Texas, and mentored their over 74 center directors. She always had the vision of what a childcare center needed to be and developed many different classrooms that children would enjoy for years to come! Lynne became VP of Operations for the company.

Lynne moved back to Marshall in 2004 and retired from Bright Horizons a few years later. She stayed involved in the Marshall community and eventually jumped at the idea of re-inventing the Farmers' Market. The new market opened in June of 2015. In 2016, she started the Farm to Table Dinner to coincide with the Farmer's Market. She also stepped up and became the Market Manager for the inaugural season. Lynne was presented an award from MAEDA for her work on the market that first year. She also served on the Planning Commission for a term.

All the women who Lynne worked with, trained and mentored over the years will never forget her way of getting them prepared to enter into the business world.

"She had such a dynamic personality. She brought out the best in all of us.", said a former childcare director that worked for Lynne.

Former Marshall Mayor, Jim Dyer once stated, "She was proof that you don't have to be loud to be a force of nature and still get things done simply because they need to be done."

She is survived by her children Lisa Hazel and Mark (Kriss) Meservey; her grandchildren who loving called her "Paka", Brandon (Nancy) Meservey, Autumn and Austin Hazel, Sullivan Meservey, Sydney (Jevan) Gibson and Chelsea Peloquin; two great-grandchildren Madelyn and Beckett; two siblings Richard (Cheryl) Dorman and Robert (Jill) Dorman. She was preceded in death by her parents.

Visitation will take place from 4-7pm on Saturday, May 15, 2021 at the Kempf Family Funeral and Cremation Services 723 US Hwy 27 N Marshall MI 49068.

Funeral services celebrating her life will take place at 11am on Sunday, May 16, 2021 at the Kempf Family Funeral and Cremation Services 723 US Hwy 27 N Marshall MI 49068.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Marshall Area Farmer's Market or the Marshall Fountain Clinic. Memorial contributions may be mailed to: Kempf Funeral Home PO Box 519 Marshall MI 49068

Leave a personal message for the family sign the online guestbook at https://www.kempffuneralhome.com