Thomas J. Lynch Jr.'s Obituary
Thomas J. Lynch, Jr. passed away peacefully at his home on Wednesday, August 9, 2023. Born in Philadelphia to the late Thomas J. and Mary Rita (nee Thompson) Lynch. Tom was 75 years old.
Beloved husband of 50 years to the late Joan P. Lynch; loving father of Thomas J., III (Amy), Matthew (Amy), and Tracy (Chris) Rodgers; and cherished “Pops” to Tessa, Luke, Quinn, MJ, Analee, Sadie, and Welles. Tom is survived by his siblings Betsy and (Harry) Hession, James (Kathy) Lynch, Paul (Regina) Lynch, Robert (Monica) Lynch, and Meg (Robert) Verrelle. He is also survived by his sister-in-law Gail Owens, and many nieces and nephews, all of whom he loved dearly.
Tom spent his childhood in the Mayfair section of Philadelphia where he attended St. Matthew’s Catholic School and Father Judge High School. He fulfilled his childhood dream of playing basketball in the Big Five at St. Joseph’s University and was a loyal Hawk his entire life. Following college, Tom married his high school sweetheart, Joan, and moved to Cinnaminson, where they raised their family and lived for 50 years. Tom started his career teaching and coaching basketball at Germantown Academy and St. Joseph’s Prep. He went on to receive his master’s degree in education from Villanova University. After a few years, he transitioned out of education and became a sales representative for Callahan Chemical Company. He spent the rest of his career in sales using his wonderful talent of connecting with people, and retired from Univar in 2019.
Tom exemplified a life well lived. In 1982, Tom started the Cinnaminson PAL Basketball Clinic, where he volunteered for over 35 years. Over the years, he coached countless teams for St. Charles Borromeo CYO and Cinnaminson PAL. He was also actively involved in the Philadelphia Markward Basketball Club. Tom’s faith was most important to him and he was an active parishioner of Sacred Heart Parish where he taught religious education classes and was a Eucharistic minister. In recent years you could always find him on the sidelines cheering on his grandkids at their many sporting events. Tom’s favorite thing was spending time with his family and friends. His warm, loving, spirit drew people to him.
A gathering of family and friends will be held Tuesday, August 15th, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Wednesday, August 16th, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. at The Church of the Sacred Heart, 103 4th Street Riverton. His Memorial Mass will follow at 11 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Church of the Sacred Heart (shcriverton.org), Father Judge High School (fatherjudge.com), LaSalle Academy (lasalleacademy.net), or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (stjude.org.)
To share your fondest memories of Tom, please visit www.givnish.com
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