So many barbecue and chili cooks throughout the Northwest and beyond are saddened today, as we've discovered one of our dearest cooks, past president and wonderful friend, Ms Lynne Brokaw has, very unexpectedly, passed away.

The L-0-N-G time Pacific Northwest BBQ Association (PNWBA) member and one of the inaugural inductions to our Hall of Fame, was found Monday morning at her Seattle home, apparently having passed in her sleep, Sunday night.

An 18 year staff member at Seattle Children's Hospital, and senior member of her administrative department, was not only one of the "old breed" as a cooking member of the CASI Puget Pod but also an officer of the Washington State Chili Society. She also served as President of the PNWBA, well over a decade ago.

Over the years, her passion and success in such cooking led her to become a Seattle cafe owner and yet she continued, in the world of competition cooking.

One of the charter members/organizers of the PNWBA in the early '90's, Lynne went on to compete all the way through 2019. It was back in 1997 she earned Reserve Grand Champion at the American Royal, the world's largest sanctioned BBQ competition. She competed from coast to coast and was also a veteran of the Jack Daniel's World Invitational BBQ Championship and America's chili championship in Terlingua, Texas.

Not to say Lynne was on the short side but that American Royal trophy, taller than her, made the flight back from Kansas City to Seattle, strapped in the airliner from the floor up against the seat next to her, and beyond, as she wouldn't let the crew stick it in the baggage compartment!

A mentor to many in both chili and BBQ, Lynne was loved by so many she competed with (And most often beat). In later years, so many of us looked forward to our annual trip to Langley, British Columbia for our longest running regional chili and barbecue competition, if for no other reason than we knew Lynne had never missed a single event there, over it's multiple decade lifespan.

To say she'll be missed would be a gross understatement. If open services for her are scheduled, the PNWBA will share that information.

Some have already asked about making donations in her memory. So, PNWBA will host a chili cook-off in Lynne's honor, in conjunction with an upcoming BBQ competition. To make that go, such a donation to the 501(c)3 non-profit organization, the PNWBA, can be done by visiting the PNWBA Donations Page.

We’ll celebrate this one-of-kind woman in the way she would celebrate the memory of such a friend, herself!