Lynn H. Kobliska

On April 8, 2013, the United States Marshals Service lost an employee who had been part of our agency since 1985, and took with him a wealth of knowledge and wit. Lynn Kobliska, 50, began working in our warehouse when he came to the Washington, D.C. area from his native Iowa. His knack of organizing inventories developed into a permanent vocation as a property management specialist in what was then called the Administrative Services Division. The intensive task of accounting for our agency's most sensitive properties fell to him and his co-workers, including keeping track of countless firearms, computers and communications equipment from across the country. Lynn was particularly adept at reconciling difficult accounts, but never without levity. He later transferred to the Investigative Operations Division to concentrate on their property requirements.

There was a personal intensity to Lynn. Anyone who had the pleasure of seeing his office was amazed by the array of railroad-related artifacts and souvenirs, and his knowledge of the American railroad was quite astounding. He spent a lot of his free time sharing his knowledge with others, merging this with assisting Iowa youth.

His family was also part of our agency for many years. Until recent times, his wife Martha also worked in the U.S. Marshals Service managing the agency's vast automotive program. Lynn would often take pride in daughter Jennifer's advances in her studies and her recent marriage. His aunt had also been employed with the agency.

In the recent memorial service in Woodbridge, Virginia, the ministering official stopped abruptly in the middle of the program, pulled out a neckerchief and doffed an engineer’s cap. He proceeded to inform the packed chapel how Lynn’s humor and dedication were vital elements in his life—and what he left us. It was not only true, but Lynn would have approved with that all-knowing smile that was his trademark.