James Earl Lynn, age 88, of Chicago formerly of New Mexico, passed away very peacefully with his son at his side on Thursday, February 3, 2022, at The Grove of Elmhurst. Survived by his loving son Gwenn-Aël Lynn, first wife Christiane Barrier-Lynn, brother Jerome Lynn, sister-in-law Jeanette Lynn, sister Janice Marty, nieces Amy Rettammel, Lynne Marty, Mary Marty and Melinda Marty, nephews Joseph Lynn and Paul Marty and good friends Michele and Bevan Davis. Preceded in death by his parents Joshua Sr. and Marion (nee Conlin) Lynn, nephews Joshua Jr. Lynn and Rusty Marty, sister-in-law Anne Lynn, brother-in-law "Al" Marty, and very close friends Ken Harris, and Hal Armstrong. James was born in St. Paul Minnesota and was raised in Sacramento, California. He enjoyed baseball and played 1st base as a kid. James attended McClatchy High School and learned and perfected Spanish and thus a passion for other languages was born. James was a proud veteran and served two tours for his country with the U.S. Marines, first during the Korean War, where he was wounded in combat and was awarded the Purple Heart. For his second tour he was stationed at Atsugi, Japan. During his service, James learned to speak Korean and Japanese, and he also studied judo while in Japan. Thanks to the GI bill, James graduated from UCLA with a bachelor's degree in international relations and learned to speak German and Mandarin also while at UCLA. He then hitchhiked across the country and eventually left for Spain where he taught English for two years. Then he traveled to Paris, where he met and married his wife Christiane and stayed in France for 25 years. He learned to speak fluent French on the streets of Paris and with the help of his wife, read Camus in its original version. He traveled all over Europe, Morocco, India, Mexico and Guatemala. James loved the open road and spent a large amount of time traveling and camping with his son. He also was a noted boxer who trained in south central L.A as a welterweight. James had a passion for reading and writing though he remained an unpublished author. There is far too much about this man to capture James's life in a brief obituary, he seized every opportunity, never wasted time, and thirsted for knowledge and self-growth. Visitation for James will be on Friday, February 18, 2022, from 11:00 A.M. until 1:00 P.M. at Forsythe Gould Funeral Home. Funeral service will take place the same day at 1:00 P.M. also at the funeral home. James' funeral service will be live streamed and may be viewed by clicking this live link . Interment with full military honors will immediately follow at 2:30 P.M. at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, Elwood. In lieu of flowers, donations in James's name to the American Civil Liberties union, New Mexico by visiting www.aclu-nm.org would be most appreciated. Arrangements entrusted to Forsythe Gould Funeral Home, 507 S. State St., Manhattan, IL 60442, 815-478-3321, www.forsythegouldfh.com.