Lynn Jelliffe Friis of West Tisbury died peacefully on Friday, Jan. 8 at Windemere Nursing Center after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. She spent her final days and hours surrounded by her loving family. She was 86.

Lynn was the beloved daughter of Maltby and Thelma Jelliffe of Middletown, N.J., where she grew up. Her sister Arity Findlay predeceased her. Lynn married her college sweetheart, Dr. Clayton Friis, whom she met while a sophomore at Jackson College of Tufts University. They celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary on Christmas Day.

Lynn was a natural and gifted athlete. She rode horses in her youth, swam in the nearby Atlantic Ocean throughout the summers, and was the captain of the Jackson College tennis team. She continued to be an avid tennis player throughout her life. She had a deep love and talent for music and became an accomplished cellist as an adult, playing in the Great Neck Symphony on Long Island and in the Arista Quartet, which performed throughout the New York metro area for many years. One of the quartet’s most moving and appreciated programs was devoted entirely to music composed in the concentration camps of Europe during World War II. She also taught lessons to children and adults privately at the Westchester Conservatory, and attended the Wellesley Composers Conference annually. Lynn and her husband greatly enjoyed the cultural life of the New York area and Martha’s Vineyard. She served as an usher at the Caramoor Music Festival in New York and attended the Chilmark Chamber Music Series.

Lynn and her husband Clayton spent 50 years as part-time residents of West Tisbury and moved here permanently in 2012. Clayton captained charters out of Vineyard Haven and Edgartown, worked on the Chappaquiddick ferry, and on the Menemsha Bike Ferry for 13 summers.

Lynn was a caring mother and wife, sweet friend, and gentle soul. In addition to her husband, Lynn is survived by her four children: Suzanne Friis Gagliardi and her husband Ron of Holmdel, N.J.; Carl Friis of Glen Haven, Colo.; Rachel Friis Stettler and her husband David of Boston; and Tanya Friis and her partner Michael Hill of Crystal, Nev.; and four grandchildren, Erik Stettler, Will Stettler, Lauren Gagliardi, and Kristin Gagliardi.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in Lynn’s honor be directed to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, stjude.org, or Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard Hospice hospiceofmv.org.

Her funeral service will be held at a later date to be announced. Arrangements are under the care of the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home in Oak Bluffs. An online guestbook is available at ccgfuneralhome.com.