Mary Jane Durlam Lynch passed away on November 28, 2023, at Greene County Medical Center in Jefferson. She had lived her entire 94 years in the community of her birth.
Mary was ninth of 10 children born to Mike and Fay (Griswold) Durlam. She attended schools in Jefferson, graduating with the class of 1947.
On April 23, 1949, she married her high school sweetheart, Kenneth (Ken) Lynch at the Little Brown Church in Nashua.
Mary did secretarial work in the offices of Dr. J.K. Johnson, Iowa Electric and attorney E.R. Melson. In 1955 she left the workforce to start her family. Mary and Ken were parents to a son John and a daughter Jane.
It was 1973 when Mary returned to fulltime employment in the offices of American Athletic, Inc. In 1994 she retired as administrative assistant so she could pursue many other interests.
During her 90+ years as a member of First United Methodist Church, she twice served on its board of trustees, taught many Sunday school classes, and was an active member of United Methodist Women.
For many years she was a supporter of Iowa State Cyclones football and basketball teams, but equally supported all sports in her community. Many fall evenings you could find her in the press box at Linduska field acting as a spotter for the field announcer. Golf was a huge favorite as a participant.
She became an active member of the GCMC auxiliary, and also acted as its president, and was on the hospital’s strategic planning committee.
Mary was an instructor of the American Red Cross CPR procedure. For several years she was a volunteer to a second grade teacher. She was named as A Friend of Education, an award sponsored by Lincolnway Uniserve, the Iowa Education Association and the National Education Association.
In 1994 she became a member of Greene County Historical Society. Mary had a great passion for the history of Iowa, specifically Greene County. During her tenure as president, she spearheaded a fundraiser to enable the society to purchase the property at the museum’s present location. She assisted with the entire renovation, helped pack and move artifacts and to develop the new exhibit areas.
In appreciation of her numerous hours of volunteer service, Mary was named recipient of Greene County Chamber of Commerce ABC award.
Mary was preceded in death by her husband Ken; her parents; brothers Loran, Gerald, Vernon, Eugene, Wendell, Wayne and Mike Jr.; and sisters Lois Veach and Polly Kellogg.
Survivors are son John (Lilly) Lynch of Laveen, AZ; daughter Jane (Gary) Parker of Jefferson; grandchildren Shane Lynch of Lawrence, KS, Lindy (Nick) Lehman of Dana, and Dana Parker (Amadou) of Watkinsville, GA; and great-grandchildren Parker, Mason, Marieme, Jeylani and Aila.
A celebration of life will be held at a later date in the summer of 2024. Slininger-Schroeder Funeral Home, Jefferson, Iowa.
