Dennis Patrick Lynch entered eternal life on April 10, 2021, in his eightieth year. Born in Jersey City, Dennis was a son of Thomas E. Lynch and Mary Doust Lynch. A longtime resident of Rumson, N.J., he was a graduate of Red Bank Catholic H.S. After spending a postgraduate year at Phillips Exeter Academy, Dennis earned a B.A. from Yale College in l964.
Upon completion of his service in the Coast Guard, Dennis married his former classmate, Ann Marie Blades, his “best friend for life”. The newlyweds moved to Philadelphia where Dennis studied for his M.B.A. at Penn’s Wharton School, majoring in finance. He became a V.P. at Smith, Barney & Co. before cofounding the investment advisory firm of Lynch and Mayer, Inc., in N.Y.C., in 1976. For twenty years L & M ranked nationally in the top quintile of large-cap investment managers. Early retirement years were partly spent in Hanover, N.H., and Essex, CT.
Throughout his school years and thereafter, Dennis pursued an outstanding athletic career, distinguishing himself on both the basketball and tennis courts. A member of the 1962 Yale Ivy League Basketball Championship Team, Dennis was named an All-Ivy Player in 1963 and 1964, was point guard for the Navy and All-Service Teams in 1965, and was drafted by the N.Y. Knickerbockers. Dennis was also Captain of the 1964 Yale Tennis Team and of the Yale-Harvard Team that played Oxford-Cambridge in the Prentice Cup matches of that year. Longtime singles and doubles champion of the Seabright Lawn Tennis & Cricket Club, in the year 2000 the Asbury Park Press voted him second best player in the history of Jersey Shore Tennis.
During the previous quarter century, aside from his election to the Rumson Borough Council, Dennis served on the Board of the Navesink House (now The Atrium CCRC) and was Vice-Chair of the Rumson Country Day School Board. He also headed the investment sub-committee of the Meridian Health Group after years on the Riverview Medical Center Foundation. In addition, Dennis served on the Yale Advisory Committee, and because of his loyalty and generosity to the University, was named a Sterling Fellow. He served as well as the President of the Seabright Lawn Tennis Club where he was recently named an honorary member. A longstanding member of the Racquet and Tennis Club of N.Y., Dennis was also a member of the Seabright Beach Club and Rumson Country Club.
Dennis Lynch led an exemplary life. He was the quintessential Catholic gentleman and a decades-long parishioner of Holy Cross Church in Rumson. He “practiced what he preached”, saw the good in every person, and was the gentle, self-effacing one so many sought out for counsel; his patience, understanding, and supportiveness were incomparable (as was his wit!). Dennis enjoyed the game of Bridge and earned the ACBL rank of “regional master”. His taste in music was eclectic, and he was everyone’s favorite dance partner, especially his wife’s.
Predeceased by his brother Thomas E. Lynch, Jr., and sister Maureen Lynch, Dennis is survived by his loving wife Ann Marie, his devoted children Kathy L. Hale (Jon), Dennis P. Lynch, Jr. (Marshall), William T. Lynch, and Nora A. Lynch, as well as by his brother Vincent. He also leaves his grandchildren Ted and Nick Hale, Eleanor and Coley Lynch, nieces Perri Howard and Meghan Lynch, nephew Nick Lynch and several close cousins. And now, our Dennis dances with the angels.
A Mass of Christian Burial and Celebration of Life will be held on Monday, July 19th, beginning promptly at 9:45 am, at Holy Cross Church, 30 Ward Ave., Rumson NJ 07760. See CURRENT SERVICE menu for additional information including Zoom Remembrance. "Dennis Lynch Memorial" will be available on YouTube for the next 3 weeks, ending about Aug. 21.
