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'We Lost Our Internet Grandma:' Whimsical NJ TikTok Star Lynja Yamada Davis Dies At 67

Lynn "Lynja" Yamada Davis, 67-year-old TikToker and New Jersey resident who thrilled millions with her cooking and humor, has died.

Lynn "Lynja" Yamada Davis.

Lynn "Lynja" Yamada Davis.

Photo Credit: @cookingwithlynja

Davis, of Holmdel, died of esophageal cancer at Riverview Medical Center on Jan. 1, the New York Times reports.

Her death was announced by her children on Instagram on Friday, Jan. 12.

"Our mom, Lynn Yamada Davis (aka Lynja, the goat, the best to ever do it, small in stature but massive in might, Marge Simpson, Snow White, the bus driver, the queen that was never not slaying, Fort Lee’s finest, the grilling grandma, the internet’s grandma, mini lynnie, little Lynja etc), passed away January 1st, 2024, peacefully and comfortably with family by her side," the post reads. 

Lynja, formerly of Fort Lee, will be buried in California with her parents.

"I have this theory that our mom was so special that she was offered the opportunity to make millions and millions of people happy around the world, but it would cost her a battle with cancer for the rest of her life. Without hesitation, she accepted," the post continues. 

"And that’s how @cookingwithlynja was born."

Lynja studied civil engineering at MIT and graduated in three years, her kids say. She then graduated from the joint MBA and masters of public health program at Columbia University.

She volunteered as a local EMT for 20 years, up until three months ago; she ran eight marathon (and finished one even after blowing out her knee seven miles in; she loved skiing and scuba diving; she failed motorcycle school twice but passed a third; and amassed more than 18M followers on TikTok alone, according to her children's Instagram post.

The internet seems to feel as though they lost their own grandmother.

"I’m literally going to cry why I feel like we lost our grandma but internet grandma 😭," one person wrote.

"I’m so sorry for lose[sic], as it is a huge lose for us as viewers I can only imagine how major of a lose[sic] this is for you and your family," another said. "RIP Lynja."

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