Lynda Owings Reary

Lynda Owings Reary, 74, of Lenoir passed peacefully to be with her Lord on Monday, June 23, 2025 at Mission Hospital in Asheville with her family by her side. She was born on February 27, 1951, in Charleston, SC, to the late Thomas Owings and Shirley Robinson Harrington.

Lynda would light up every room she walked into. She had a very nurturing and caring soul for her friends, family, and everyone she met. In 1969, she graduated from Gordon Garrett High School. She furthered her education at the Medical University of South Carolina as a lab technician. She met the love of her life, John Reary, at the Tastee Freeze while he was stationed at Charleston Air Force Base.

Lynda enjoyed all family get-togethers, playing bingo at the Shaire Center, watching the Game Show Network, and vacationing at the beach.

After moving to Lenoir, she attended Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute, where she received her bachelor's of nursing in 1994. She worked in the area as a Pediatric Nurse, retiring from Mulberry Pediatrics in 2016. She was an active resident at the Shaire Center, where she became the President of their residents' council. She not just touched the lives of her fellow residents, but also their families, always providing a helping hand when needed.

She attended church at the Shaire Center and previously was a faithful member of United Presbyterian Church (currently Greenway Presbyterian Church). She had a very strong faith and love for her Savior, the Lord Jesus.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of 53 years John Edward Reary, her stepfather Frank Harrington, and her grandparents Lawrence and Inez Robinson.

Left to cherish Lynda's memory are her daughter Lara Reary Ayers (husband Charles), her son Jon Lawrence Reary (wife Amanda), her five grandchildren Matthew Cannon, Savannah Ayers, Bradie Reary, Charlize Ayers, and Gracie Reary, her sisters Jane Sottile and Kimberly Robin Brown (husband Darryl), her brother Charles Edward Harrington (wife Krista), and many nieces and nephews.

She was deeply loved and will be deeply missed.

A funeral service will be held 12:00 PM on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, at Pendry's Lenoir Funeral Home, 522 Wilkesboro Blvd, Lenoir, NC 28645, officiated by Pastor Mike Gragg.

The family will receive friends for two hours prior to the service, from 10:00 am until 12:00 pm on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, at Pendry's Lenoir Funeral Home.

There will be a private burial at Whitnel First Baptist Church Cemetery at a later date.