Lillian Marie Adams Hatch

(Lynn) Marie Adams Hatch, 90 of Atlanta died April 11, 2015. It is with great sadness that we announce the peaceful passing of our mother at the age of 90. Lynn was born in Hoboken, New Jersey to John Adams and Helen Grabuska Adams, on September 22, 1924. She was the younger of two children and is preceded in death by her parents and brother, Albert Adams. She is survived by her husband of over 62 years, Captain James (Jim) Chambers Hatch, U.S. Navy (Ret); daughter, Maureen Harrington (and her husband Bradley Harrington); sons, James Chambers Hatch, Jr., John Benjamin Francis Hatch, Kevin Tayloe Hatch, (and his wife Kerry Delores Hatch), Commander Robert Adams Hatch U.S. Navy (Ret); grandchildren, Leigha Poulnot, (and her husband Jeffery Poulnot), Kevin Tayloe Hatch, Jr., William Kyle Hatch; and great grandchildren, Kieran Elliot, Jacob Poulnot, and Mason Poulnot. Close relatives from New Jersey also include her nephews John Adams, Matthew Adams, Jeffrey Adams, and her niece Valerie Weddermann (and her husband Bruce Weddermann). Lynn met Jim at the Grand Ballroom of the Manhattan Biltmore Hotel in New York City. His ship was supposed to have set sail that day, but heavy fog on the Eastern seaboard kept the fleet in port. Jim and some shipmates had heard of a dance in NYC and went ashore to the dance. When Jim entered the Grand Ballroom, he immediately saw Lynn across the room and was captivated by her beauty. He waited until the last dance of the night to cut in on Lynn dancing the Samba. Jim knew the Samba because he had been to Arthur Murray and learned that dance. Jim got Lynn's number that night and went back to his ship and told his roommate that Lynn was the girl he was going to marry. Jim courted her until they were married August 9, 1952 in Union City, New Jersey. The rest is romantic history. Lynn greatly enjoyed being a devoted Navy wife and mother as Lynn and Jim traveled throughout the world for 26 years while raising five children. She worked retail in New York City as a Personal Shopper at Bloomingdales and Gimbels before spending 17 years at Neiman Marcus in the Buckhead section of Atlanta, Georgia. Her stylish elegance and exquisite taste made her especially suited for this vocation. She touched the lives of many people with her special smile, thoughtful handwritten notes, thank-you notes, faithful prayers and generosity. Lynn lived life well with hope and appreciation for all people and the world around her. She was most gracious and well known for being kind, thoughtful and compassionate towards others. Lynn brought great joy and happiness to her family and friends and as C.S. Lewis wrote after he lost his wife, “the happiness then is the pain now”. She will be missed greatly for her tireless caring and sincere gestures of love. She adored gracefully entertaining friends and could plan a party for more than 100 friends and family with diplomatic ease. She loved to cook and was a beautiful dancer, dancing every possible Saturday night with her husband Jim at the downtown Capital City Club Mirador Room dancing to Big Band music all night. She was an avid reader and intellectually interested in topics of all kinds. She was a master of the New York Times Crossword puzzles. Jim always called Lynn “The Love of My Life” and true to the end, wrote a book in her honor by the same name and presented to Lynn for their 55th Anniversary. Lynn and Jim co-authored another book called “Love Letters and War Letters,” published in January 2015, which chronicles over 500 hand written letters over the course of their separation during both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. On October 29, 2012 - against their doctor’s advice not to travel – Lynn and Jim went on their annual trip to New York City. This was a special trip, because it was to be the celebration of their 60th Anniversary in the city where it all began. While Lynn and Jim were having dinner and drinking pink champagne at the top of the Metropolitan Club, Hurricane Sandy arrived and shut down the city. The hurricane’s arrival gave them three more days of timeless memories to celebrate this special anniversary together. Lynn and Jim have been faithful members of the Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Atlanta since 1972, life members of the Capital City Country Club in Brookhaven and Atlanta, as well as loyal and active members of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association. The Hatch family will receive family and friends on Sunday, April 19, 2015, from 4:00 to 7:00 PM with a Catholic Rosary service from 7:00 to 7:30 pm at H.M. Patterson and Son-Arlington Chapel, 173 Allen Rd., NE, Sandy Springs, GA 30328. A Funeral Mass will be Monday, April 20, 2015, 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 4465 Northside Dr., Atlanta, GA 30327 with The Rev. Greg Goolsby as the Celebrant. Holy Spirit will be hosting a reception following the mass at 12:00 PM at McDonough Hall. The committal service will follow at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs, GA.

Grieve Not For Me

I cannot let you grieve for me,

For those who love must let us go.

In comfort, please believe I’m free,

From all the pain life can bestow,

As I begin my world anew,

Consider not what used to be,

I’m sending happy smiles to you

While I enjoy eternity.

Lord, bless the home

From which I came,

Yet brush each lonely hour away,

With fond remembrance of my name,

And a sunshine for a newer day.

Look to the wind to find me there,

Beside the hardest thing you do.

I’ve left my love within this prayer

I’m always watching over you.

–Author unknown