PORTLAND- Mary Griffith Lynch, age 73, passed away on September 28, 2017 after a battle with cancer.
She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 21, 1944, the only child of Reynold and Joanna Griffith.
Mary graduated from Shipley High School (1962) and Wheaton College (1966). She received a master’s degree in education from Boston University in 1974, and later a second master’s in teaching English as a second language.
She married Jack Lynch in 1965 and spent three years in Palo Alto, CA early in their ten-year marriage. She raised her two children in Cambridge, MA while working at a craft gallery in Harvard Square and for the Class Reports Office at Harvard University, and later taught English for six years in Prague, Czech Republic.
In 2004, Mary moved to Portland, ME, where she taught English as a second language at Portland Adult Education for ten years. She found her work with recent immigrants and refugees very rewarding.
Mary was an avid reader, and sought out theater and museums wherever she went. She welcomed a wide circle of relatives and friends for evenings of lively conversation. She sought out educational experiences throughout her life, including travel, piano, and writing. She took an active role in conservation at her lakeside property in Fayette, ME, and volunteered with several Portland organizations.
Mary is survived by her children, Rebecca Lynch Nichols and Stephen Lynch, four grandchildren, and four step-siblings.
Services will be at a later date.
Online condolence messages can be submitted at the Chad E. Poitras Cremation and Funeral Service, website, www.mainefuneral.com
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Natural Resources Council of Maine or the Kennebec Land Trust.