Cliff & Lyn Long | Gustin Longs

Patricia Marilyn & Clifford Allan Long

HOW DID THEY FIRST MEET? Lyn was out at a restaurant after a date with another fellow (Bob) and a couple of guys Bob knew from McKinley Foundation came in and chose to sit with them. One of the guys was Cliff Long! They went back to McKinley and played ping pong and Lyn was impressed with Cliff’s skill!
Lived in Champaign, Illinois for a short while as Cliff finished his degree, they then moved to Bowling Green, Ohio where they spent the rest of their days
They raised four children: Steven Allan, Andrew Edmund, Thaddeus Cline and Melinda Suzanne
Travel was important to them – family travels included visits to most of “the lower 48” while camping. Lyn has been to all 50 states and Cliff & Lyn traveled internationally to many places including Australia/New Zealand, Eastern Europe, Alaska and Togo. In 2000 and beyond Lyn has also been to Israel/Egypt, China, Turkey, Haiti, Myanmar and South Africa.

A quick overview of Lyn’s life includes…

Graduated from Abingdon HS
Graduated from Cottage Hospital School of Nursing with an RN degree
Attended the University of Illinois with a B.S. in Nursing
After moving to Bowling Green her primary “career role” was as homemaker, helping her kids and husband in so many ways
She was involved in the church as an Elder and in Presbyterian Woman (including at the regional and national levels)
Lyn became a volunteer extraordinaire, including co-founding the Wheeled Meals organization
She is an attentive parent and grandparent (and sister, aunt, …) caring for her family in many ways

as a young child, their family was constrained on finances, at one point almost having their home foreclosed (ironically by a family member!)
going to the University of Illinois at Champaign after spending the beginning of his college time at a junior college briefly and then at the University of Illinois @ Navy Pier
finishing a PhD in mathematics from the University of Illinois
taking a faculty position in 1959 at Bowling Green State University for his first post doctorate job…and stayed there for a career!
Diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 1995 and died from complications of it in 2002

was purported to be a great barometer of jokes – his laugh was infectious and sometimes he’d get so tickled that minutes later he would start laughing again
loved participating in sports with a particular interest in handball/racquetball/squash/ping pong
was a craftsman in many ways, including carving wooden figurines, doing home repairs and working on new construction with Habitat for Humanity and other charitable organizations (people loved to have him come visit because he’d always be doing little fix-it jobs, after asking of course! 🙂 )
was a gymnast at the University of Illinois – Navy Pier (though he’d be the first to tell you it was a small team and he was one of the last men…) His specialty was the rings

Church was part of the weekly activities. We never missed unless it was an extreme circumstance.
Dinner grace was almost always: “God is great, God is good, let us thank him for our food. (By his hand we all are fed, give us Lord our daily bread. Amen.”) The second part was added by Steve Rock when he and his siblings were staying with the Longs for a few days
The Long kids enjoyed growing up on a “dead end” street – very few cars in the area and lots of kids. We lived very near “the swamp” – more details about that area and subsequent neighborhood changes here
Family was named “Family of the Year” for Bowling Green in 1988

Reviewed/additions by: Lyn Long, Steve Long

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