Sister Mary Lynch, SSND
June 1, 1941 - September 20, 2025
June 1st,1941 was a sunny Father’s Day when Mary Anne took her first look of the world. She was the only daughter of four children born to Nora Mahoney of Killarney and Lawrence Lynch of Roscommon. Her brothers, John was a year older than Mary and four years after her birth, Joe arrived. Lawrence died from pneumonia in 1947 when just four months old. Mary Anne was baptized at the Church of the Incarnation in New York City.
When Mary was four, the family moved to a little house in Teaneck, New Jersey. In 1946, she started first grade at St. Joseph School in Bogota, NJ. She received First Communion and made her Confirmation there. In the eighth grade, Mary heard a vocation talk, and adventurous Mary wrote to the Diocesan Vocation Director who suggested the Aspiranture of the School Sisters of Notre Dame located in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Her devotion to Our Lady drew her to the congregation. She described her time “at Fort Lee” as four happy years during which lasting friendships were formed.
Mary traveled to Villa Assumpta and the candidature on September 8th, 1959. During that year she returned home for two weeks for eye surgery. As Sister Lawrence Mary, she began her novitiate on July 15, 1960.
Soon after profession Mary found herself teaching third grade at St. Augustin in Puerto Rico. She learned Spanish “on the job”. Mary earned her Bachelor of Arts in English (taught to her in Spanish) at the College of the Sacred Heart in Santurce, Puerto Rico. Eight years later she was missioned to St. Joseph in Ronkonkoma, New York and then to St. Lawrence in Huntington, Connecticut. For one year Mary was a physical therapist aide at Lourdes Health Care Center for Villa Notre Dame in Wilton, CT.
Mary continued her education at New York University and Fordham University. While living at Most Holy Redeemer on the Lower East Side, Mary taught at the Spanish-American University in New York City and completed a master’s degree in theology at Fordham University. St. John the Baptist in Fairview, New Jersey was Mary’s last formal classroom assignment.
For thirty-one years Mary was a respected religious leader in the Spanish speaking community in Jersey City. St. Mary, St. Joseph. and Resurrection Parishes benefitted from Mary’s creativity as Religious Education Director, English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher, and her outreach to the poor. She was a leader as the four parishes in Jersey City merged. When she retired in 2015, the parish expressed deep gratitude for “Mary’s beautiful presence”.
While living at Villa Notre Dame in Wilton, Mary taught ESL at Caroline House. When the community moved to “3030,” Mary visited sisters in assisted living, remembered their birthdays, and was responsible for countless hidden acts of kindness.
When Mary was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, someone asked her if she were “mad at God”. Her reply was, “How could I be mad at a God who has been so good to me all my life? My life worked together.” Her sisters at “3030” were a constant presence to Mary during her weeks in hospice care. Mary died on September 20th, 2025.
Her family and SSND sisters gathered at St. Andrew Church in Bridgeport, CT to celebrate Mary’s life. Sister Eileen Shea led the wake service at which Sister Peg Regan did the readings and Mary’s brother Joe spoke poignantly of his sister. Helen Ramos, Director of Caroline House, recalled the difference Mary made during her time in ministry there. Monsignor Robert Crofut celebrated the Mass of Resurrection. Mary’s niece, JoAnn, was lector and her nephew, Brian, placed the pall on the coffin. Mary was buried at St. Mary Cemetery in Bethel, CT.
By Cathy Feeney, SSND
