Remembering a great friend and colleague: Lynn Bagley 1957-2024

Lynn worked with Hybrid Turkeys from 1987-1993 in a variety of roles, but most notably Director of Research. Below are some of the memories shared by his friends and colleagues from Hybrid.

Julien den Tandt (former President of Hybrid Turkeys) recalls meeting Lynn for the first time in Salt Lake City about 35 years ago and proceeded to hire him as our Research scientist for Hybrid Turkeys located in Ontario, Canada . He says Lynn was the ‘BEST’ hire in his career. When Lynn joined Hybrid, we had a market share of less than 5%. By the time he moved on to his next adventure Hybrid had grown its market share to nearly 25% and Julien says this is in a large part due to Lynn. The US was a largely untapped market for Hybrid at the time and although Lynn moved his family up to Canada when he joined Hybrid, he maintained a vast network within the US turkey industry. Lynn, paired with a dynamic team, that included, Kevin Weeden, Jack Merritt, Helen Wojcinski, and Ron Slavnik, made huge inroads in the US during his tenure.

Julien reflected how they became good friends and even as their career paths took them in different directions, they continued regular telephone conversations. Lynn was an exceptional human being. He was kind, sensitive, humble ,a strong leader, a great listener and was loved for his very active sense of humour and infectious laugh. He will be profoundly missed.

Ron Slavnik (former Director of Sales) shared that he had the pleasure of working with Lynn at Hybrid. Lynn was always so fun to work with. Lynn was quick with a joke and made work enjoyable. He was a wonderful teacher and powerful speaker. Later on Ron recalls meeting Lynn many times in Moroni with his most memorable dinner being with Lynn and Marilyn in Provo. It is a blessing to have known Lynn.

Scott Rowland (Current Director of Excellence) reflected how whenever you met Lynn, his first response was always a big smile. He was a man of faith, a family man and just such a genuine person on so many levels. Humble and generous to all he met.

Lynn was a continual prankster and someone who loved to laugh. When Scott looks back on the many funny situations he found himself in, where Lynn was present, he was usually the one who was already suppressing his urge to laugh. He was typically the prankster or the catalyst.

Lynn’s greatest strength was his ability to distill down technical information and communicate that information in a fully relatable story, to anyone he was addressing at the time, from CEO to farm crew. This was a talent that he seemed completely unaware of but noted by all his colleagues. Scott reflected, he is blessed to have known Lynn and to have been able to call him a friend. Rest in peace Lynn.

Dennis Bauman (former Technical Sales Representative) recalled how Lynn was a great teacher and helped him considerably! Brenda and Dennis had the pleasure of having Lynn and Marilyn attend their wedding in April, 1988. Lynn was truly a wonderful man and he will be sorely missed.

Helen Wojcinski (former Science and Sustainability Manager), worked with Lynn in a variety of capacities over the years, ranging from colleague, to boss, to customer with ‘friend’ being a key relationship throughout. The first memory she shared was how she remembers Lynn telling her about his PhD research and how he knows how many pores are on a turkey egg – because he counted them!

Helen remembers Lynn as a teacher, supporter, and promoter of people. Everyone loved him. Lynn was a fair man that would never point fingers but rather ask ‘how can I help?’. He invested in the next generation and when someone did a good job he would make sure it was known. As a teacher, Lynn had a unique way to get his point across. Helen shared one such quote that Lynn used for a variety of topics over the year.

“Biosecurity (or insert any other management topic) is really important, but you only have to do it for the first few hours. Then you only have to do it for the first few days. After that it is just the first few weeks. And then just the rest of the time the flock is under your care.” He had a way of getting a message across without being dramatic.

Lynn was a man of principles, he cared about making sure customers succeeded and he was so dedicated to helping so he would go wherever was needed no matter what. Helen recalls going to any given meeting in the industry over the years and being able to just know that Lynn would be there and it would make her happy that she could connect with him. Many of the photos included in this article are courtesy of Helen from meetings together over the years.

Dave Libertini (Current Managing Director, BU Turkeys) reflected when he thinks of Lynn, he thinks of a warm smile, friendly way and a humble and down to earth expert. Dave had the pleasure of starting at Hybrid when Lynn was in charge of the R&D program more than 30 years ago. Lynn was so patient in helping Dave understand this crazy business – and Lynn was so passionate and positive about the turkey industry and it rubbed off on Dave. Dave remembers well how he connected with the local community and church when he was in Kitchener (Ontario, Canada). He was truly loved and so many people, beyond Hybrid, missed him when he left.

Lynn and Marilyn and their family were able to move all over the country over the years after leaving Hybrid and be accepted and welcomed with open hearts. He was a true supporter of the industry, taking time to teach, share his experience and always with that impish grin on his face. Dave reflected he will miss the chance to see Lynn at trade shows and share a laugh. Rest in peace, my friend.

These memories celebrate only a small portion of the things Lynn accomplished in his career and a fraction of the people who had the great opportunity to work with him. We encourage others to share their memories and stories below as we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Lynn Bagley. To our friend, and colleague, thank you for a lifetime of memories. May you rest in peace.