Patrick Lynch

SHARON — On April 21, 2025, our beloved husband, father, grandfather and friend, Patrick Lynch, passed away in Sharon, Connecticut. He was 79 years old. Patrick was born on Aug. 21, 1945, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Joseph Lynch Jr. and Sarah Faherty. Joe had three children (Joseph III, Dottie and Kae) from a previous marriage; after being widowed, he married Sarah and had three more sons: Richard, Robert, and Patrick.

Patrick grew up in Dorchester, where he attended Boston Latin School. Perhaps inspired by his father’s occupation as a book printer, Patrick developed what would become a lifelong appreciation for a good story, collecting colorful tales of his life in South Boston that he would later take great pleasure in sharing, usually over an Irish whiskey. He attended college at Brown University, where he majored in American Studies and immersed himself in theater.

After graduating from Brown in 1967, he served in the National Guard and then returned to his studies, this time pursuing a graduate degree at the Yale School of Drama (now the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University).

After leaving Yale, Patrick moved to New York and worked in market research at Elizabeth Arden. During this period spent observing product tests for baby shampoos and sniffing out perfume notes, he developed strong opinions about a wide variety of products and became a fervent brand loyalist — he was notoriously reluctant to deviate from his preferred daily uniform (teal work shirt, cargo pants), dessert order (a hot fudge sundae with vanilla ice cream), or soap (Dove). This loyalty also extended to his friends and family, many of whom reached out to him in times of crisis. He never let anyone down.

His encyclopedic knowledge was legendary: an avid crossword puzzler and tinkerer, he knew not only about the thing (whatever the thing was), but (if applicable) how it worked and how to fix it. He was drawn to interesting characters — artists, writers, smart alecs and cut-ups of all stripes — because although he was deeply principled and (mostly) a rule-follower, he preferred to accept people as they were, without judgment. Also he liked to steal their best stories to tell at future dinner parties.

His favorite story, however, was the one he shared with his wife, Jane, the center of his world. They met in 1973 after being set up on a blind date at a hockey game. Moments after returning to their respective apartments, he rang her up on the phone to continue their conversation — a conversation that continued for 52 years. They married on May 31, 1975 and made a home in northwestern Connecticut. For many years they split their time between Connecticut and New York City pursuing their respective careers, during which time Patrick worked as a producer, notably on the anthology series American Playhouse, where he produced two episodes, 1985’s “Displaced Person” (for which he won an Emmy award) and the 1987 episode “Suspicion.”

In 1983, he and Jane had their daughter Tess. Patrick was a devoted father, holding down the fort — and cutting the crusts off countless tuna sandwiches — when Jane’s career required her to travel. In 1996, they moved to Los Angeles and spent five years in a magical house in Bel Air, but it was with no small measure of relief that he left the desert sun behind to return to Connecticut in 2001. He was a New Englander through and through, and a place without real apple cider donuts and crisp fall evenings was simply not home to Patrick. He would, however, return to Los Angeles many times over the years to visit his daughter and son-in-law, Peter, and to spoil his grandchildren absolutely rotten with gazillions of Hess trucks and hard-to-acquire stuffed animals.
Patrick was preceded in death by his mother Sarah Faherty, father Joseph F. Lynch, Jr., and siblings, Joseph Lynch, Kae O’Neill, Dottie Joyce and Richard Lynch.

Patrick is survived by his wife, Jane Curtin, his daughter Tess Lynch and her husband Peter Cellini, and his three grandchildren, Emmett Cellini, Lola Cellini and Finnegan Cellini.

He is also survived by his constant companion, Newie the dog, who is patiently waiting for him to come home and toss her a handful of popcorn.

The Kenny Funeral Home has care of arrangements.