Lynn Langman Lilienthal died on Oct. 30 with family by her bedside. She was 81.

She was born in New York city, the daughter of Louis Langman and Anne Wertheim Langman. Her spirit of adventure, social development and exploration began at an early age. In high school, she traveled to Sweden with The Experiment for International Living and, later, to Kenya with Operations Crossroads Africa.

She graduated from the New School in New York city with a degree in social work and received a master’s in social work from Virginia Commonwealth University. With her husband and partner Phil, she then served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia. She worked in a mental hospital, a juvenile remand home and an orphanage for children with mental and/or physical disabilities.

A few years later, she and Phil lived in the Philippines and Thailand. She established deep connections with the Yakan weavers on Basilan Island in the Philippines, helping them market their crafts.

Her zest for travel never waned as she and Phil experienced the world with friends and family. They shared with her children and grandchildren the opportunity to explore new and remote regions, whether in Morocco, Ethiopia, Bhutan, the Amazon, or a remote Costa Rican peninsula.

A resident of Reston, Va. since 1967, Lynn co-established and directed PALS Child Care Center, the first licensed infant day care center in Virginia. She served on the board of the Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE) and Public Art Reston. She was a key figure in the creation of the Reston Museum and influenced many to continue to make her adopted hometown a connected, thoughtful and inclusive place for all to enjoy.

She also worked with Phil for more than two decades to direct Camp Winnebago, a boys’ summer camp in Maine.

She was a kind, thoughtful and loving person. She especially loved children and had a knack for making them feel valued and loved. This special power was especially evident with her grandchildren: she always accepted an invitation to celebrate a birthday, graduation or any other excuse to be with them.

Lynn also appreciated art and nature. Whether it was a work of art or finding simple delicate shells on the beach, she connected with the profound wonder that surrounded her. In her later years, she took up painting and taught those around her how to express themselves through her outrageous and wonderful intuitive art.

She especially loved Martha’s Vineyard. She spent time almost every year since childhood at the Menemsha Inn. She loved the beaches at Zack’s Cliffs and Quansoo.

She is survived by her family: husband and partner for 59 years, Phil Lilienthal of Reston, Va.; her children Andy Lilienthal, Cathy Deutchman and Ben Lilienthal, and their respective partners Laura Lilienthal Blaisdell, Josh Deutchman and Abbey Lilienthal; seven grandchildren whom she loved deeply, Ella, Maya, Zev, Levi, Rafe, Leah and Simon; and her siblings, Thomas Langman of Gaithersburg, Md., Deborah Lesser of Berkeley, Calif. and Betsy Schulberg of New York city.