This year’s Cherry Days Parade will feature a familiar face in the procession. At 98 years old, Lynne Bear has been named Grand Marshal, a title that honors not only her long-standing connection to Paonia but the countless ways she’s helped shape its story.

Born in Paonia in 1927, Lynne is a member of one of the valley’s oldest families. Though her childhood included a brief move to Missouri, she returned and graduated from Paonia High School in 1945. “I’m the only one from my class left,” she said. Back then, students held gym class in the town’s old opera house, a structure that burned down long ago. Her memories of that era are clear, and include walking the two miles to school from Lund Lane every day.

After graduation, she worked downtown at Mullender Drug, where today’s Diner now stands, and later at Safeway. Marriage took her away from Paonia and brought her to Fairbanks, Alaska, in 1951, where she lived for nearly a decade and raised two boys. But by 1960, Lynne knew it was time to return home. Her husband stayed, and with a young son in tow, she came back to Paonia.

One of her first jobs upon returning was at the Purple Cow Café, where she started as a dishwasher. When the opportunity arose to lease the restaurant, she seized it. “I just made the food I knew how to cook,” she said. That simple approach proved to be exactly what the town wanted. Her mother worked alongside her, and the café served breakfast, lunch, dinner, and plenty of pie.

In 1967, Lynne married Charlie Bear, a Somerset native and coal miner who opened the Bear Mine with his father, Tony. Together, Lynne and Charlie became quietly influential stewards of downtown Paonia. At the urging of their neighbors, the Poulos sisters, Charlie bought the Paonia Theatre (which was renamed the Paradise Theatre in 1991), along with the buildings on either side. Lynne resisted at first—”Don’t you dare buy that theatre,” she told him—but she eventually embraced the role, managing the theatre and adding her own flair. They remodeled the space and installed the balconies, and Lynne operated a beauty salon next door.

Lynne’s flashlight patrols down the theatre aisles are still remembered by those who once snuck in the back door as kids. “The theatre was all about the kids,” she said. “They were our customers.” That same spirit of service extended far beyond the ticket booth.

Though her professional life was full, she was equally active in community life. She served as president of the Paonia Chamber of Commerce in the 1970s, helped organize Cherry Days for many years, brought the colorful Bavarian dancers to the festival, and ran the Paonia community booth at the Delta County Fair. Later in life, she became president of the Paonia Senior Center, a position she held for nine years before just recently stepping down—though she continues to volunteer regularly. For years she was also the historian for her local LDS ward and still researches genealogy on her computer.

Though she no longer paints as much as she once did, Lynne’s oil paintings, mostly local landscapes, hang in the Senior Center and in her home. She was taught by Paonia artist Parma Tyson and continued her studies with several teachers over the years.

Her eyesight, once severely limited, was improved dramatically after cataract surgery in her 80s. “The doctor said I didn’t even see a leaf on a tree,” she once said of her childhood. That early difficulty never held her back. She’s lived independently, maintained a sharp mind, and continues to read daily and cut her own hair—”which still looks fabulous,” her friends note.

Lynne is not one for grand statements, but her quiet legacy speaks volumes. She’s worked, served, raised a family, and built a life here, always returning to the place that feels like home.

When asked about being named Grand Marshal, Lynne replied, “I was very surprised.” But no one else in town is.

“I love this town,” she said. “I’m grateful my grandparents came here. I’m grateful my mother was born here, and I’m grateful I’m still here.”