This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Farris, Lynch, Heaberlin, Swartwood Classification: Obituary Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/GeV.2ACEB/1628 Message Board Post: The Missourian Columbia, MO February 18, 2003 Ruth Edna Lynch was a devoted mother, a bird-watching outdoorswoman who loved flowers and wildlife, and a collector of antique china. Mrs. Lynch, of Fayette, died Sunday, Feb. 16, 2003, at Colonial Manor in Glasgow. She was 74. Mrs. Lynch also enjoyed collecting clear glassware and kerosene lamps, said her husband, Robert Lynch. After a brain hemorrhage left her partially paralyzed in 1978, Mrs. Lynch had to relearn how to use the left side of her body. Her husband said that despite enormous difficulties, such as being unable to see from the left side of her eyes, Mrs. Lynch eventually regained her normal mental functions and always kept a positive attitude. Mrs. Lynch was born June 29, 1928, to Forrest Farris and Augusta Heaberlin Farris in Coulterville, Ill. She graduated from Collinsville High School in 1946 and briefly studied art at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. After leaving SIU, Mrs. Lynch worked for several St. Louis banks. She married Robert Lynch on Nov. 23, 1950, in Fayette. Her son, Donald Lynch, said his mother was very supportive of her children's school activities. Mrs. Lynch was a leading member of the Higbee PTA and once taught sewing to 4-H groups. After her sons went to college, Mrs. Lynch joined her husband at his consulting firm, Lynch Engineering, where she worked as a secretary. They both retired in 1997. Visitation will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Mt. Pleasant Christian Church in Howard County, where Mrs. Lynch was a member. Services, conducted by the Rev. Jodie Jackson, will take place at the church at 11 a.m. Burial will follow at Mt. Pleasant Christian Church Cemetery. Mrs. Lynch is survived by her husband; two sons, Donald Lynch of Columbia and Gary Lynch of Hales Corners, Wis.; a sister, Nellie Swartwood of Fulton; four grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. A brother, Robert Farris, died earlier.