SCARBOROUGH — Raymond Lynch focused on three things his whole life: family, friends and sports.
“It’s what he was all about,” said his son Ken Lynch.
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Mr. Lynch died Wednesday. He was 82.
As a student-athlete, he excelled in football, basketball and baseball.
When he played basketball at Deering High School, newspapers referred to him as the “Leaning Tower of Stevens Avenue,” standing 6 feet 5 inches tall. During that time that he was awarded the George Vinall trophy.
“It’s given out to the most valuable, most outstanding player of western Maine basketball championships,” his son said. “I won it as well. He was proud of that.”
Mr. Lynch was a history teacher and school administrator throughout his career, and he coached basketball teams.
“He took time to reach out to struggling students during the years he was teaching and coaching,” said his daughter Jana Frank. “He helped instill values, honesty and integrity.
“He had a natural way of endearing people to him,” she said.
While Mr. Lynch made his mark in sports and as an educator, he was also well-known on Higgins Beach in Scarborough.
The family’s cottage, called White Caps, was originally the property of Mr. Lynch’s grandfather. Ken Lynch’s children now frequent the cottage during the summer, and Mr. Lynch was proud to see them carry on the family tradition.
“If you talked to anyone at Higgins Beach, they’d know of Ray Lynch,” his son said.
Keeping up his competitive edge, Mr. Lynch enjoyed body surfing contests along the beach.
“Informally, we’d call him ‘The Body Surfing Champion of Higgins Beach,’” his son said. “He had this knack for riding a wave longer than anyone else.”
Ken Lynch remembers matching up against his father body surfing, but he never was able to beat him in the waves.
With his son working just outside New York City, Mr. Lynch frequently visited with three things in mind: visiting a jazz club, stopping at an oyster bar and shooting some pool with his son.
“One thing he absolutely loved would be coming down to go to a jazz club. The place we went to is the Blue Note,” an old jazz club, his son said.
Mr. Lynch will be laid to rest wearing a baseball cap from the club.
Staff Writer Emma Bouthillette can be contacted at 791-6325 or at:
ebouthillette@pressherald.com
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