Sheila Lynch

Sheila Belle (Armstrong) Lynch died on April 3 in her winter home in Clermont, Florida. She was 82 years old. Sheila was the beloved wife of 51 years to Edward B. Lynch, Jr., of West Dennis and Clermont, and the devoted mother of Brian Lynch of Waltham and Karen Lynch of Washington, DC. She was the proud daughter of the late William “Bud” Armstrong and Mary (Carew) Armstrong, and loving sister to the late Paul Armstrong, as well as William “Bill” Armstrong. Sheila held deep affection for her many nieces, nephews, and cousins, including her Irish cousins back in the “homeland.”

Raised in Malden, MA, Sheila was a proud graduate of UMass Amherst, with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. In her first job out of school, she worked as a “computer” on the Apollo program with the Avco Corporation, winning her fame within her family as a “rocket scientist.” She paused her career to raise her children and later resumed working as a systems analyst at GTE Government Systems in Needham and the Mitre Corporation in Burlington. Throughout her career, Sheila helped develop systems used to communicate between land, air, and sea. Her work also contributed to national defense, including at the North American Aerospace Defense Command and United States Northern Command.

Sheila greatly enjoyed sports of all kinds, both as a participant and a fan. She was an avid skier and member of both the Lawrencian and Innitou Ski Clubs. A favorite memory was getting the “worst sunburn of her life” while skiing the snowfields of Tuckerman’s Ravine at Mount Washington. A life-long Bostonian, she was a die-hard fan of all Boston sports teams, especially the Red Sox (she even attended the pennant clinching game in 1975!) and the Bruins.

In addition to sports, Sheila loved music—everything from Wagner’s Tannhäuser Overture to Barry Manilow—and was a long-time member of her church choirs at St. Bridget's Parish in Framingham and St. Faustina's Parish in Clermont. She also greatly enjoyed her regular art classes in Clermont, filling her home with a multitude of paintings and sketches.

Sheila was known by family and friends as a gifted storyteller. She knew how to deliver a punch line and how to exaggerate for maximum effect. She made sure everyone knew they would always have a warm welcome in her home. Sheila was blessed with cheerful good humor and fierce protectiveness toward those she loved, including her many friends and “sisters by choice.” She will be dearly missed.

Friends and relatives are invited to visit with family between 9:30-10:30 AM on Monday, April 14 at Doane, Beal, and Ames Funeral Home in Harwich, MA. A funeral mass will follow at 11:00 AM at Holy Trinity Parish, also in Harwich. Interment will take place at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne at 1:45 PM. Flowers are welcome, but those who prefer to make a gift in Sheila’s name might consider the Jimmy Fund or the U.S. Olympic Team, both causes dear to her heart.