Lynne Doris

Drouillard

Lynne Doris Drouillard, 80, of Toledo, Ohio, entered the peace of her Redeemer on July 20, 2026, at Mount Carmel East Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, surrounded by family who hold fast to the promise of the Resurrection.

Early Life

Lynne was born February 7, 1946, in Toledo, the daughter of George O. Benedict and Mildred May Benedict. Her father, a proud World War II veteran who served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army, instilled in his children a quiet patriotism and a love for the outdoors. Together with her younger brother, Mark, Lynne grew up in a household centered on faith, family, and hard work.

Much of Lynne's childhood was shaped by summers at the family cottage on Bear Lake in Hillsdale, Michigan — a place she always called simply "The Lake." It was her father who bought the cottage, and it was there that she and Mark spent countless hours fishing for perch with their mother, learning to water ski, and gathering around the dinner table for meals of the day's fresh catch. The water became a part of her, and the quiet rhythm of lake life remained a touchstone for the rest of her days.

Lynne graduated from Rogers High School in 1964, earned her Bachelor of Education from Bowling Green State University in 1968, and completed her Master's degree at the University of Toledo.

Career

For 27 years, Lynne taught fourth grade at Holland Elementary School in Holland, Ohio. She was a devoted and patient educator who shaped generations of young learners with kindness and consistency. Her classroom was a place of warmth and order. She was blessed to retire early, trading lesson plans for longer seasons at Bear Lake — the place she had loved since childhood.

Beyond the classroom, Lynne served her community as a volunteer with the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, Flotilla 10-06 in District 9 Eastern Region. She served alongside her husband Leo for many years on Lake Erie, and in 2004 she was honored with a 10-year service award for her dedicated volunteer work.

Faith

Lynne's faith in Jesus Christ was woven quietly but firmly through every chapter of her life. A lifelong member of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, she was raised at Arlington Avenue Lutheran Church in Toledo, where her parents had long worshipped and where she herself was married. She later attended Zion Lutheran Church in Toledo and Resurrection Lutheran Church before making her church home at Lamb of God Lutheran Church in Columbus. She was an active and faithful participant in the life of each congregation.

For her funeral, Lynne selected the Scripture readings that had long sustained her hope: I Corinthians 15, Romans 6:1-23, John 12:23-26, and II Timothy 4:6-8 — passages that proclaim with clarity the victory of Christ over sin and death. She found special joy each Christmas Eve in the candle-lit sanctuary, where the congregation's voices rose together in her favorite hymn, "Silent Night."

Family and Home

Lynne was twice married. Her first marriage to Stephen Daniel "Dan" Lease was dissolved in 1981. On March 16, 1998, she married Leo F. Drouillard, a U.S. Army veteran, and together they built a life enriched by travel, service, and time on the water. They made a home in Port Charlotte, Florida, drawn by the warmth of the Gulf Coast. After Leo's death in 2004, Lynne eventually sold the Florida home and returned permanently to Toledo in 2014.

Lynne knew profound loss and bore it with a strength that those who loved her will not soon forget. Following her father's death in 2000, she cared for her mother, Mildred, in her own home for five years after Mildred suffered a stroke — a labor of devotion carried out day by day with unwavering fidelity. During those same years, she mourned the death of her husband, Leo, in 2004, and then her mother on December 31, 2005.

Lynne was, deep down, a loving mother. She persevered through family hardships with the strength she had, though relationships were not always easy. In 2022 she received a diagnosis of dementia — a condition that was likely present long before it was named — and her later years were made harder still. She endured as long as she was able. Imperfect as all human love is, she is remembered by her sons as a mother who, at her core, loved them.

Lynne is survived by her sons, Stephen Michael "Mike" (Jodie) Lease and Aaron (Kelly) Lease; her brother, Mark George (Teresa) Benedict, of Port Saint Lucie, Florida; four grandchildren, Andrew, Brayden, Keziah, and Nathanael; and four nephews, Bryan, Grant, Gregory, and Matthew. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Leo; and her former husband, Dan.

Passions

Lynne found beauty where others might overlook it. She collected Precious Moments figurines, Christmas ornaments, and German Nutcrackers — but she was just as likely to bring home a piece of weathered driftwood that had caught her eye. She was an enthusiastic scrapbooker, carefully preserving family memories in albums she crafted by hand, and she loved to garden, a passion now carried on by her son Mike. In her neighborhood on Danesmoor Road in Holland, she was known for her garage sales — a fixture of community life that brought neighbors together summer after summer.

She was a traveler in the truest sense. She journeyed to Israel, walked the streets of Germany on multiple occasions, explored China, Greece, Turkey, Scandinavia, and Russia. She sailed the Alaskan coast, cruised the Mississippi River aboard a paddle-wheeler, and crossed the Panama Canal — collecting not souvenirs but stories.

Service Arrangements

Visitation will be held Tuesday, July 28, 2026, from 9:30 to 11:30 AM at the Foth-Dorfmeyer Mortuary (within the Castillo Funeral Home) 1757 Tremainsville Road, Toledo, Ohio 43613. A funeral service officiated by Pastor Thomas Meissner of Lamb of God Lutheran Church will follow at 11:30 AM. Graveside burial will take place at 12:30 PM at Toledo Memorial Park, 6382 Monroe Street, Sylvania, Ohio 43560, where Lynne will be laid to rest alongside her parents, George and Mildred. A private family reception will follow.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Lutheran Women's Missionary Society at www.lwms.org.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." — II Timothy 4:7