Terrence Patrick Lynch, a decorated U.S. Army Special Forces (Airborne) veteran, a proud father and devoted husband, an award-winning technical writer, an unquenchable consumer of knowledge, a mentor to the young and a confidant of the old, a sought-after trivia champion, and clever crafter of tributes and obits, himself passed away on July 9 in Oak Island, North Carolina. He was 65. 

In 1958, Terrence arrived as the fourth of five children born to Peter and MaryEllen Lynch in New York City, joining an already sizeable Monahan-Lynch clan. By his father’s side in Hackensack, NJ, Terrence learned how to use every tool in the family garage. He read the news every day, loved science fiction and nonfiction, and developed a lifelong obsession with astronomy, the military, aeronautics, science, history, and space travel. His precise and analytical mind earned him a spot at the University of Chicago for two years; he would later earn a mechanical engineering degree at the University of Massachusetts - Lowell.

At 20 years old, Terrence enlisted in the U.S. Army and was stationed at Keller Army Hospital at West Point as a histology technician in the morgue. While there, he won a prestigious competition by developing a plan to use the West Point ice hockey rink as a temporary morgue in case of a major disaster. He soon passed the Special Forces Qualification Test and was stationed with the 10th Special Forces at Fort Devens, Massachusetts. From there, he would often drive 35 minutes to visit his sister, Tara, and met her roommate, Joan. They fell quickly and deeply in love and were married for 40 years. 

Joan and Terrence’s life together was hardly traditional. While Joan worked in a variety of management roles in publishing, Terrence quit his full-time job as a technical writer for a mechanical engineering magazine to be a freelance writer and stay-at-home dad for his two daughters, Casey and Molly. 

Terrence was a complex and multifaceted person: While he was analytical, he was never cold. He would come to the aid of any neighbor who needed his handyman expertise. He cared deeply about justice, ethics, equality, and civil rights, and made sure to donate to the causes about which he was passionate.

You always knew where you stood with Terrence. He would speak his truth, even if it was challenging for some people to hear. Though he grew up Catholic, in adulthood he believed only in the scientific method, the Golden Rule, and the people he loved. He had the gift of listening and of making a person feel heard and valued. He could make friends with anyone of any age, race, gender, or class, and loathed pretension, small talk, and gossip. He loved to sing.

A true romantic, Terrence didn’t go the Hallmark route for Valentine’s Day. Instead, he wrote Joan love poems every year—being especially proud if his words elicited an emotional tear or two. 

Injuries, chronic pain, and PTSD plagued and eventually overwhelmed Terrence in his final years. His loved ones will always choose to remember him at his best, however–lost in a book, engaged in friendly debate, or singing Danny Boy and Thunder Road.  

Terrence was predeceased by his brother, Emmett, and is survived by his wife, Joan Morrow Lynch; daughters: Casey Demers-Lynch (Jeff) of Freeport, ME, Molly Lynch of Easthampton, MA; and sisters Alice Lynch of York, PA; Tara Welsh (Bob) of Summerville, SC; and Helen Lynch of New York, in addition to many sisters- and brothers-in law, and nieces and nephews.