Ingeborg Luise Flynn, 94, died on Friday, June 19, 2026 at her home in Spotsylvania, Va., with her daughter at her side.

Inge was born in Elmshorn, Germany and last lived on the North Fork before moving to Spotsylvania with her husband, Francis Michael Flynn (Frank), to be closer to their daughter. Inge, the fourth of six children, was raised in World War II Germany in Elmshorn, a part of Schleswig-Holstein on the Elbe River and just north of Hamburg, one of the most heavily bombed cities in Germany during the war. Despite the hardships of the world around her as a child, Inge was surrounded by the love of her family and Inge was herself a fiercely-loving, spiritual, happy, generous and kind person who cherished family and friends.

Inge studied at Hamburg’s Frauenfachschule and received her degree in child education and healthcare. In pursuit of that degree and certification, Inge studied and completed practical training in Paris, France; Uppsala, Sweden; and in the North Frisian Islands, Hamburg and Elmshorn, Germany. Inge particularly loved her time in Paris where she cared for the young child of a Parisienne designer of women’s and children’s clothing. While not studying, Inge traveled and enjoyed the arts, fashion and culture of Paris (as well as pain au chocolat, madeleines and palmiers!).

Upon receiving her degree, Inge was employed by the German Merchant Marine as the Kindergärtnerin on Hamburg-American Line vessels, providing care as a nurse and teacher to the children of passengers traveling on ships. She was one of two women sailors on the vessel and traveled to many destinations, some not frequented by tourists and certainly not by women traveling alone. Inge was permitted to visit the cities in which a vessel was docked although sometimes, as directed by a vessel’s captain, only as chaperoned by male officers. Among only a few of the places Inge loved seeing were New Zealand, Australia, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Tahiti, the Panama Canal, the Suez Canal, Japan, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Southern Italy and Egypt.

While visiting family in New York’s Catskill Mountains near Tennanah Lake, Inge met her future husband, Frank, at a 50th anniversary party. She was fond of saying that she and Frank danced all night. While Inge returned to work onboard ship after that vacation, Inge and Frank’s relationship progressed by letter and Inge ultimately moved to New York, where she took a position as an orthopedic scrub nurse at New York Hospital. Inge and Frank dated and then married, making their first home together in Great Neck, N.Y. Together they had a daughter, Tegan, and became the steadfast and inseparable trio of “Inge, Frank and Tegan.” That human trio was often accompanied by dogs and cats for whom Inge’s fondness was profound. In fact, Inge said frequently that when she married Frank, she married a man and his dog—a sweet boxer who became the first of several boxers with whom the couple shared their lives.

After Tegan began school, Inge began the career that lasted the next three decades of her life: first as a real estate sales associate and then a real estate broker and appraiser. Inge began her career in residential sales in Suffolk County on Long Island’s south shore, moving to commercial real estate primarily in Suffolk and Nassau counties, and then moving to second home sales on the North Fork. Inge was a well-known, successful agent (known to many early in her career simply as “the lady broker”) and she became the first woman vice president of the Long Island Board of Realtors.

Inge and Frank moved to Spotsylvania 25 years ago. An accomplished textile artist, Inge became active in the Fauquier chapter of Embroiderer’s Guild of America (EGA) and the Fredericksburg chapter of the American Needlepoint Guild, forming vibrant friendships with the guild members. Inge cross-stitched and sometimes embroidered, while she also continued to upholster historic furniture and craft window treatments from pictures she had seen in books, magazines or simply in her own imagination. Inge appreciated beauty in all forms and loved fine and decorative arts. She could not only look at a historic piece of fabric and tell you from where it originated but also how and from what it was loomed. While she declined offers to be an interior decorator, Inge would offer advice and her keen sense of style to friends when asked.

Inge was an accomplished Scherenschnitt artist, gifting pieces to friends on special occasions. She also actively gardened and was known for her extensive peony garden. She frequently propagated houseplants, gifting friends everything from rubber tree plants to snake plants. She was an avid reader: from a James Patterson “page-turner” to her beloved American history and art books.

Through the years, Inge and Frank enjoyed returning to Roscoe and Tennanah Lake where they met. They truly loved Maine and regularly spent extended time on the Pemaquid Peninsula. Coming from a seafaring family, Inge was at peace in the serenity and beauty of Maine’s coastline. She also found in Maine a place to pursue her love of fine art (frequently visiting the Farnsworth Museum and enjoying Colby’s Museum of Art), fiber arts, antiques, history, reading, gardening and a great yard sale. Through the years, Inge’s friendships in and affinity for Maine grew so strong that no sooner did she return from Maine than she began planning her next trip back.

Inge was preceded in death by her husband of over 50 years, Frank; her parents, Maria Sophie and Willi; her sister, Hannelore; her brothers, Willi and Dieter; her sister-in-law, Heidi; her brothers-in-law, Ernst and Gunther; her nephew, Ulrich; and her nieces, Frauke and Regina. She is survived by her daughter, Tegan, who loves her brilliant, talented, sweet and gentle Muttilein with all of her heart and soul and who simply cannot imagine a world without her mother and best friend by her side; her sisters, Antje (Ernst) and Heike (Rolf); her sister-in-law, Erika (Willi); her nieces and nephews and their families, and her bella Ella, the tiny kitten who showed up at her door. Importantly, Inge is also survived by wonderful and loyal friends, whose love, support and caring carried her through life.

Visitations were held and a Lutheran funeral service was celebrated, all in Fredericksburg, Va. Interment will occur later at Arlington National Cemetery, where Inge will join her husband Frank, a decorated World War II veteran.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Inge’s honor to the Lincoln County Historical Association, P.O. Box 61, Wiscasset, ME 04578 or lincolncountyhistory.org/get-involved/donate/. After reading an EGA article on its collection of samplers and textiles and visiting the Chapman House in Damariscotta, Maine, Inge was passionate about LCHA’s collection. LCHA will use donations made in Inge’s honor to conserve an early 19th Century trapunto quilt, which Inge would have admired for its beauty and the artistry of its handiwork. Or, donations in Inge’s honor may be made to Cause 4 Paws, P.O. Box 301, Locust Grove, VA 22508 or cause4pawslocustgrove.org/info/donate. Cause 4 Paws, a volunteer-run cat rescue, made it possible for Ella to be rescued by Inge. A detailed obituary appears at covenantfuneralservice.com/obituaries/Ingeborg-Flynn?obId=48786699.

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