Lynam Cousins Not Lynams

Patricia (Patty) Lynam Wyrick, Springfield, MO and her three children.


Friday I attended the funeral of Lois Chubick Lynam in Nodaway. She was the widow of Dad's first cousin, Kenneth Lynam. Dad's father, George and Kenny's Dad, William were the sons of Barney Lynam. Patty and I share the same great-grandfather.

The first time I met Patty was at a family reunion at Paul & Evelyn Lund's farm home in 1955 (?). She and her older sister, Marilyn were near the same age as Betty and I. We got over our shyness enough to at least talk to each other a little. I probably saw her again a few times during our growing up years, but not any that stand out.

In the past fifteen years, I've seen her twice - both times when she was in Iowa visiting her parents and with her Mom otherwise I would not have recognized her. But once I re-met her, I was drawn to her - partly because of her friendliness and partly because she reminded me so much of my Aunt Leona.

Kenny & Lois had five daughters. The middle one, Karen Hardy, died of cancer about a year ago. the youngest, Marianna Harris, gave the eulogy for her Mom. It reminded me so much of my own Mother that I could not help but cry - for their loss and my own. I do not know if Mom and Lois knew each other before they married cousins, but there seemed to be a bond between them the few times I saw them together. Maybe it was just that they were both five feet tall and Kenny and Dad were both six foot six.
Whenever I am around any Lynam relatives, I look for the family similarities. What I call the "Lynam look" but in reality if we go back far enough it is the "Gravett look" (Barney's wife, Nancy's, parents.) A nephew of Kenny & Lois's, Greg Hackett (Velma's son), was at the funeral. I had never met him before. He certainly took after his Mom's side of the family.

This is a picture of 14 of the 15 grandchildren. I hope someday to have all their names and which daughter they belong to. One grandson, the middle one in the back row in the burgundy shirt is Marilyn's son, Keith Lynam. He is the only one with the Lynam name - choosing to take his mother's maiden name because he loved his grandpa Kenny so much.
Patty and I talked about how we wish we could have a Lynam family reunion - similar to the one I planned in 1990 when I invited any and every 'Lynam' I could find in the phone books. (How much easier that would be now with the internet.) Perhaps we will. She took my e-mail address and said she would be in touch. I hope she is. I hope we become better acquainted. One of the problems with a family reunion is that everyone is so excited to meet one another at the time but then we go back to our own daily lives, get busy with them, and never do anything about staying in touch with those distant cousins.