Lynden Ashley McLaughlan, age 50, died suddenly of unknown causes on Sunday, March 24, 2019 while visiting Lake Tahoe, California for a ski trip with his son and friends. He and his wife of 20 years, Kristina Schwarz McLaughlan, lived in Piedmont, California with their two children, Alex (age 15) and Lea (age 12).
Born in Melbourne, Australia, Lynden was the son of Ian and Rona McLaughlan and older brother to Marc and Danielle. After finishing school in Australia, Lynden spent several years traveling the world, working as a rafting guide, ski instructor and briefly as a London bike messenger. He got married and settled in the Bay Area with Kristina in 1998, where he successfully combined his entrepreneurial spirit with his passion for both people and real estate, steadily building his own Bay Area portfolio and construction company over the past 20 years.
Lynden was a lifetime athlete, competing as a swimmer, triathlete, kayaker and professional rafting guide during his years in Australia. In the US, he notably hiked the entire Appalachian Trail, covering all 2,200 miles from Maine to Georgia during a very snowy winter with only a backpack and pair of very old donated snow shoes. Lynden put those strong hiking legs to use most recently as an avid cyclist and enthusiastic coach of his kids’ mountain biking teams. He will be fondly remembered for his love of his family and friends as well as the generosity, optimism and boundless energy he brought to everything he did.
A Celebration of Life will be held for Lynden on Saturday, April 13, 2019, at the Piedmont Veterans Hall at 401 Highland Ave, Piedmont, CA 94611 from 3-5pm. All are welcome to attend to share their thoughts and memories of Lynden, preferably in very casual dress to honor his year-round style of sneakers, shorts, t-shirts and fleece jackets.
Memorial donations in lieu of flowers may be made to Cycles of Change, Healing Waters Wilderness Adventures, or to the charity of choice.
Lynden, we met up on a ride up Mt Diablo about 5 years ago and had a great conversation about travel, adventure family and living life to the fullest. We are all just travellers on this planet, on our way to our next adventure. I’m sure we will meet again. Fare the well fellow traveller.
I got to know Lynden having kids the same age at Wildwood, then some bike riding together (before he launched to a new level). I am just hearing this terrible news for the first time and am truly saddened. I can’t claim to be a close friend but I always felt lucky to see him, catch up, and share a laugh … he always brightened my day. Rest in peace, Lynden.
I met Lynden on a weekly group ride organized by a mutual friend and was immediately struck by his willingness to ride slowly enough to make conversation with me. The way he managed his contracting crew via phone during rides impressed me enough to ask him to bid on our kitchen remodel project. Not only was he the low bidder, his work ethic and the talent of his longtime crew was truly amazing, as was the result. We hired Lynden to do several more projects, and my wife and I we were always delighted by the experience of working with him. A couple of winters ago Lynden invited me to join him and a friend on a ride over to Morgan Territory. I agreed, and after I got dropped halfway up the final climb Lyndon rode back down to see if I was OK. I hoped we could stop for coffee to catch my breath on the way home but he declined since he had to meet with our tile contractor right after lunch. As my wife just said, he lit up our life every time he met with us. Rest in peace, Lynden, there aren’t many like you.
Very sad news. My family got to know Lynden as he was the contractor on the home we purchased. We worked with him on a few projects over the last couple of years and shared many good conversations and a couple lunches talking about mountain biking and his family. He was always honest, forthright and a man of his word and very positive. Very much a gentleman. RIP.
I got to know Lynden a bit when his son Alex was on my little league team. He was a very nice man and I’m truly sorry to hear of his passing.
RIP Lynden, An adventurer, a free spirt and as good man. May your adventures continue on the other side. George and Margaret Gadsby