July 2020 - 18

Lynn Deas 1952-2020

L

ynn Deas died May 10 in
Schenectady NY. Hailed by the
World Bridge Federation as "one
of the greatest bridge players in the
world," Deas ranked second in the
WBF's all-time listing of women
players. Her bridge credits include
13 WBF medals and 27 ACBL North
American championships. In 2004, she
won the Lazard Sportsmanship award.
She was overjoyed at being elected to
the ACBL Hall of Fame in February.
Deas grew up in Newport News VA.
Sidelined by a severe car accident when
she was in medical school, she used
the forced leave of absence to make a
career change. She decided to pursue
playing bridge professionally.
Bridge expert, journalist and commentator Barry Rigal has followed U.S.
Women's bridge over the last 30 years.
"I always felt that despite Lynn's
splendid achievements, she was
never close to getting the kudos she
deserved," Rigal says. "Bear in mind
Lynn nearly died post the 1996 Rhodes
world championship and was never
able to play bridge out of a wheelchair
again! That is 25 years of dealing with
life-threatening diseases; yet she and
Beth Palmer - also gone way too soon
- were still surely the dominant U.S.
women's pair."
Rigal doubts that anyone else could
have coped with the formidable problems Deas dealt with every day. "I'm so
happy that Lynn finally got the recognition she deserved and really sad that
she won't be able to accept the honor in
person."
During a February interview, Lynn
was asked if she had an all-time favorite
deal. Her response, in signature style,
came immediately. "Y'all are gonna
enjoy this."
Valerie Westheimer, a New York City
expert, sets the scene. "Before I ever
played against Lynn, I read an article in
the New York Times by Alan Truscott
about the most brilliant play in the

18 Bridge Bulletin July 2020

1991 Yokohama World Championship.
Lynn and her partner bid to 7♣. Truscott: 'As the same deals were played in
both series [Open and Women's], there
were numerous opportunities. A bunch
of top experts failed and, after protracted postmortems, were convinced
that 7♣ could not be made barring a
defensive error. They were astonished
to learn that Deas had made 7♣ without any help from the defense.'"
Also in the New York Times, mid'90s, Westheimer smiles, "from the
Sunday crossword puzzle: 'Lynn _ _ _ _,
professional bridge player.' Cool!"
Westheimer says that many may
not be aware of Lynn's other talents.
"She was a persistent and, eventually,
accomplished gardener. Also, she could
whip up a delectable four-course meal
on the spur of the moment for a bunch
of friends. She was amazing!"
Rich Kasprowicz, Deas's husband of
nearly 30 years, appreciated Lynn's determination to play the game she loved
despite the many obstacles. "Also her
love for her dogs," Kasprowicz adds.
"They meant the world to her." When
Deas died, she and Kasprowicz had 13
dogs and three puppies.
One of Lynn's longtime friends,
Barbara Doran of Silver Spring MD,
says, "Lynn used to name her dogs
using bridge terminology. There was
Wish Trick, Finesse, Trump It, IMP
and so many more."
Bridge professional Curtis Cheek,
asked by Deas to present her for induction at the now-canceled Hall of Fame
ceremony in Montreal, says, "Lynn
took me under her wing 27 years ago.
She became a huge part of my life - in
business, as a partner and as a friend.
I'll miss her texts with pictures of each
new litter of puppies, the phone calls to
ask how I would bid a hand, and the
4 a.m. visits from hotel security because we were laughing too loud. The
world has lost one of its all-time great
players, and I've lost a dear friend."

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Gold medal
Venice Cup 1987, 1989, 1991
World Olympiad Women's Teams 1996
McConnell Cup 2002
World Series Championship Women's Pairs
2010
World National Women's Teams 2016
SportAccord World Mind Games Women's
Team and Pairs 2011
Silver medal
Venice Cup 2009, 2015
World Series Championship Women's Pairs
1982
Bronze medal
Venice Cup 1997
McConnell Cup 2014
World Series Championship Women's Pairs
1994
NABC TITLES
Marsha May Sternberg Women's BAM Teams
1992, 1995, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2014, 2016
Wagar Women's KO
1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2013
Machlin Women's Swiss Teams
1987, 1995, 1996, 2007, 2012
Freeman Mixed BAM Teams
1982, 2004, 2006
Smith LM Women's Pairs
1983, 1985, 1994, 2008
July 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July 2020
