Kathleen McCann Lynch

Kathleen McCann Lynch, of Needham, passed peacefully on Monday, September 9, 2024.

Kathy is survived by her husband of 62 years, Francis S. Lynch, and their children Tim Lynch, Mike Lynch, Nora Lynch, Caitrin Lynch; their partners, Sandy Lynch, Wendy Lynch, Nick Collier; oodles of grandchildren (Sinead, Blake, Brianna, Keith, Kevin, Cameron, Conor, Liam, Cormac, Nicola) and their partners (Matt, Lexi, Ross, Michelle); an extra-large handful of great grandchildren (Clare, Molly, Harper, Henry, Vivienne, Greyson, Rowan). Kathy is also survived by her siblings and their partners William McCann III, Sue McCann, Ann McCann, Margaret Wilcox, Dave Wilcox, Patrick McCann, Polly McCann, Charlie McCann. Kathy was predeceased by her brother Timothy J. McCann and her parents, Esther McCann-Leopold and William McCann Jr., as well as her beloved Schnoodle, Bruiser (her great comforter and protector, always on her lap and by her side when she became less mobile in recent years).

Kathy and Frank lived in many places, including Jamaica Plain, Framingham, Mattapoisett, Schenectady, Acton, Foxboro, Chicago, Milwaukee, Long Island, and Sanibel (Florida). Kathy was born in Southbridge, Massachusetts, and grew up there and in East Hampton, Connecticut. She met Frank when she was a student at Wheaton College in Norton (Class of 1962), where she graduated with a degree in Economics, and Frank was a student at Northeastern University. Kathy, who was an informal matchmaker for Wheaton women and men from nearby schools, ended up getting paired with Frank, who had a cold and a dripping nose on that first date: “repulsive,” as Kathy recently recounted. After a reluctantly agreed-to second date, things seem to have worked out okay. In fact, one of Kathy’s most famous accomplishments was to post a notice about their upcoming wedding in Frank’s local newspaper, before Frank knew they were to be married. The approach was effective, and they married within a few months of college graduation. They celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary in August this year, in the company of children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

“Have as much fun out of school as you did in.”

“Keep talking and laughing.”

Those transcribed hand-written notes in Mom’s 1958 East Hampton High School yearbook show us that Mom’s sense of humor was evident from the start through to the end.

“There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven’t yet met.”

That one is from a famous poet, but we wouldn’t have been surprised to have seen this sentiment in her yearbook, too. Mom connected people through bridge games, dog walks, Current Events discussion groups, political canvassing, and taking friends and family out for yard sale adventures. Mom was always involved in local politics. When Dad was serving in the U.S. Army in Vietnam, and Kathy was at home in Framingham with four children under age four, she decided to run for an elected town meeting member position. When Dad returned from the war, Kathy informed him of her role and said that he’d need to get himself a car, because she was using their one car for her political work. Mom continued with this work in other towns they lived in, including as an elected school committee member for the Old Rochester Regional School District (Mattapoisett, Marion, and Rochester).

Mom loved her family and was proud of the entire brood, especially her 10 grandchildren and her 7 great-grandchildren. The next generations learned from her how to play cribbage, throw a party, remove red wine from white tablecloths, and enjoy far-out-to-some foods like octopus and oysters. Mom was a “Depression Baby” to the core. She’d model for us how to use only one glass a day, to conserve dishwashing resources. Numerous of Mom’s friends have told us that they reuse breakfast cereal liner bags after learning this Kathy Trick. Mom’s ability to reuse and recycle anything, for practical purposes or crafts, was unparalleled. And then there were coupons. She’d show up at the grocery store with coupons for things she didn’t really need, but who could resist a bargain? One time she went to buy ice cream on sale, and a grandchild recalls, “It was ‘Buy Two, Get Two Free,’ and she came back with six. I learned my couponing from her, but this was her only error in arithmetic I’ve witnessed.” She also had been known to mail her grandchildren “buckets of coupons” when they were in college (not to mention newspaper comics or random articles that somehow reminded her of the recipient).

Mom’s professional life included work as a life insurance agent for New York Life, a materials planner at Digital Equipment Corporation, and a stint in retail clothing sales. Mom always took charge, regardless of title, and that included in the home where she was the financial planner and the clear manager of the household. Dad always noted that any success in life that may have been attributed to him, financial or professional, was always really due to Mom’s efforts and involvement.

Socializing and connecting people was a theme for Mom’s whole life, and her favorite venue for this effort was at dinner parties at their house. In every place she lived, she’d meet people and immediately invite them for dinner, where they’d be put to work preparing or cleaning up after the meal. Mom was a master outsourcer before the term became known outside of manufacturing industry circles. One friend recently said that the first time he and his wife met Mom, she invited them to dinner that night. Holiday dinners were huge. Mom always invited, including at the last minute, anyone who didn’t have a place to go for the holiday. A Thanksgiving for 24 people was common, and that would be a small-ish number. Mom loved to cook, or to get people to cook, and she and Dad were members of the Gourmet Group dinner group in Mattapoisett in the 1970s where they tried out different meals like Peking Duck, and the four kids got the first taste a few days before the formal event.

Sanibel was a happy place for Mom, as it was for her mother before her and five generations of McCanns to this day. She was known for finding thrift store and yard sale bargains. She was always especially proud of finding excellent “Curbies,” her name for items left out for free in front of homes. In fact, one time she invited 6 more people the day before Thanksgiving and was fretting about not having enough chairs. As a grandchild tells the story, “We go for a walk & BOOM: perfect chairs right on the curb. We hauled them home and had just enough seats for everyone at the table.”

Mom was also known for “finding” things on the beach and bringing them home, and many of us wondered if someone actually left that towel or baseball hat behind, or, might they have been out in the water when she “found” the treasure? Many of Dad’s favorite baseball hats and t-shirts (like the beige faded “Long Island Shark Festival” shirt he loves to wear) were beach treasures found by Mom on her early morning walks. In addition to left-behind personal items, Mom loved to comb the beach for Sanibel’s famous shells, and when people came to visit, she’d “drag us out of bed” to go shelling at dawn. Mom loved living by and being in the water, and she and Dad loved to sail in Cape Cod and the Islands, Narragansett Bay, and the Coast of Maine. We only saw Mom run the boat aground once, and, boy, did she move fast from the helm to the cabin to hide from her transgression.

In the past few years, Mom’s physical health was impacted by Parkinson’s Disease, but her personality and positivity remained. Even at North Hill, where Mom and Dad lived the last few years, they’d ask to sit at a table with space for extra people and ask the host to seat people next to them, especially people who were alone. Someone recently told us, “Your parents were the first people to welcome us when we moved in.” Dad was a tireless and loving caregiver and advocate, endlessly searching for new doctors, treatments, and approaches to help Mom thrive. We all love her dearly, and most so Dad.

Mom’s last days were in the ICU at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Needham, where she faced complications related to Parkinson’s. We had a boisterous pizza dinner in her ICU room the night before she passed. One of the nurses told us that “You’re a beautiful family” (we had been prepared to be asked to tone down our laughter, but we were not). The medical staff at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center were lovely, warm, supportive, and caring during those final days, and throughout our “frequent flyer” relationship with the hospital in the past year.

A private fall Celebration of Kathy’s Life is planned.

In lieu of flowers, for those who wish to honor Kathy’s memory, the family kindly requests that donations be made to Wheaton College https://give.wheatoncollege.edu/campaigns/51907/donations/new or to the Parkinson’s Foundation https://www.parkinson.org