Mrs. Eileen Patricia Lynch died peacefully at noon on April 12, 2023 following complications from a fall in her home at Lake Monticello. She was 88.
Eileen was born to Irish immigrants, Charles Patrick McCartin and Mary Anne (Mae) McCartin (nee Gilroy), in the Bronx, New York City (St. Jerome’s Parish); both hailed from County Leitrim. After attending Catholic schools in Woodside, Queens run by the nuns through eighth grade, Eileen graduated from William Cullen Bryant High School in Astoria, Queens, in 1952. She then worked as a secretary at the advertising firm of Donahue & Coe and married in 1954, at St. Mary’s Church in Woodside. Between 1955-59, she gave birth to three sons—Allen, Richard, and Robert—and raised them to become fine men. Between 1961-2002, she lived on Long Island, principally in the Heatherwood neighborhood of South Setauket. From 1973-99, she worked behind the counter in sales as the first woman in such capacity for Blackman, the largest plumbing supply house on Long Island.
After retiring in 1999 and making a tour of her ancestral homeland Ireland in 2000, Eileen moved to Lake Monticello, Virginia in early 2002. She made many friends there and worked often and cheerfully in the kitchen for the Lake Monticello Fire and Rescue Squad during their Bingo evenings.
Eileen was a talented cook and loved throwing dinner parties where the offerings included a wide range of Italian dishes, American roasts, and on St. Patrick’s Day, corned beef and cabbage, with two cans of Foster’s lager beer as the basic stock. Family was the focus of her life.
Eileen is predeceased by her parents, her sisters Mary and Ann, and her brother Charles; she is survived by her sons: Allen, of Charlottesville; Richard, of Franklin Square, Long Island; and Robert, of Zama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan; by her daughters-in-law Tullia and Reiko; by her grandchildren Thomas and Eiry; as well as by many cousins, nieces and nephews throughout Ireland and the United States.
Eileen’s family wishes to acknowledge the excellence of the University of Virginia’s healthcare system: UVA Health, together with the commitment of her family, gave Eileen an extra 12 years of happy life after her first of many operations there beginning in 2010. She lived on her own until late February 2023.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 21, 2023, at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Palmyra, Virginia. The family will receive friends at the church one hour prior to the service.
Thacker Brothers Lake Monticello Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.
Family and friends may share memories and photos at www.thackerbrothers.com.