Lynda Settle

The Tennessee Justice Center is honored to recognized Lynda Settle as a 2020 Mother of the Year for her tireless work getting her son the care he needs.

Lynda is the mother of three children: Jack (17), Ryan (15) and Grace (12). She was born and raised in Tennessee where she has lived for almost her whole life. She has been a nurse since 1992 and works at the SW Tennessee Developmental District as a CHOICES nurse. Lynda performs many roles, but she says that “mom is my heartbeat”.

Her son Ryan is non-verbal and severely autistic. He is sometimes aggressive, and Lynda has had to fight with TennCare to get him proper care at a facility that will treat him well. Lynda has said that she could write a book about her fight for Ryan’s TennCare. She initially called TJC when Ryan’s treatment facility was trying to discharge him.

Lynda calls TJC’s Gordon Bonnyman her hero and says he fought the fight against TennCare to give her family their lives back. She recalled when Gordon told her that he was not going to leave her, and how much it meant to her knowing she was not alone and that she had people working tirelessly to help. Lynda says that TJC gave her the priceless gift of Ryan’s care and there are not enough words for what TJC’s work has meant to her. “I thank God every day for TN Justice Center!”

For her tireless work fighting for her son’s health care, TJC is excited to be honoring Lynda Settle as a Mother of the Year.