Lynnette Gaza

Lynne (A.K.A. "Swannie") was born in Sydney, Australia to Minnie and Joseph. She attended Fort St. Girls High School. Despite leaving at age 15, she passed the entrance exam and enrolled in the nursing school at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, graduating as Valedictorian in December 1964. She moved to London in the 1960's, worked as a Private Nurse at King Edward VII Hospital for Officers and Gentlemen, serving The Prime Minister, members of The Royal Family, and other distinguished patients. Lynne then worked in Hong Kong as a medical secretary, a barmaid, a nurse at the Hilton Hotel, and eventually as Sales/Marketing Manager of eight factories that produced semiconductors, printed printed circuit boards, etc. This job sparked a fateful encounter with James Gaza, who would become her husband of 40 years. James was an engineer from Chicago, who ran International Components Corporation, or "ICC", an international manufacturing firm. They married in Tokyo where Lynne studied Japanese language and calligraphy.

The couple relocated to Chicago, where Lynne worked extensively in the Chicago Public Schools: publishing yearbooks, teaching the Great Books Courses, and coaching Academic Bowl teams - winning the City Championship nine times and inspiring many students along the way. She earned a Bachelors of Science in pre-med from Loyola University Chicago, graduated cum laude, and became a member of the Jesuit Honor Society despite being an atheist.