Lynn Balmer is 108 years old, going on 109.  She was recently honored as the oldest female veteran still alive in the United States, and the oldest living female member of the American Legion in the country.

Balmer was a Lieutenant in the US Coast Guard, working Intelligence during WWII.  She was a high school math teacher in 1942 in Albany, CA when she answered the call by her government for mathematicians able to read and interpret weather maps and charts. She worked out of a secret base in Connecticut helping to safely navigate US ships on the least dangerous route from the United States to England. Upon discharge in 1945, she moved to Seattle, Washington where she met and married her husband, Charles Balmer.

Balmer was honored in April by American Legion Post 709, Rancho Cordova where she is a member, as the oldest living member of the American Legion.  She is also the oldest American Legion Auxiliary member in the United States, receiving a lifetime membership from Auxiliary Unit Citrus 637.  Niece Brenda Hicks of Citrus Heights describes her great aunt as still being “as bright as can be.”

Lynn was also a professional ice skater, performing in the Ice Capades before and after WWII.

Balmer’s nephew, Ken Hicks of Citrus Heights, describes his aunt as “an extremely sharp woman.”

She now resides in a care facility in Chico, CA.  As a graduate of Chico State University, Balmer also holds the distinction of being the oldest living graduate of any of the California State Universities.  She will be 109 in September.