Kate Lynch and her mother, Naomi Lynch, share a moment. Photo: dotCANTON
By Steve Wilder dotCANTON.com
The two helium-filled balloons attached to her chair were the giveaway. “So many candles, so little cake,” was the message on one. “Who’s counting?” asked the other.
If the balloons hadn’t been there, Naomi Lynch would have blended in anonymously with the rest of the fine folks quietly enjoying their lunch Friday, Sept. 3, at the Canton Community Center.
But for Naomi, this wasn’t a day for blending in. It was a day for standing out as she, her friends and some other special guests eventually got around to celebrating the Canton woman’s 103rd birthday.
Kate Lynch, one of Naomi’s three children, was there with her mother. First Selectman Dick Barlow came to say a few words about a woman he has known since he was a boy growing up in town. And state Rep. Tim LeGeyt of Canton, who said he sits behind Naomi in church, brought a proclamation from Gov. M. Jodi Rell declaring the day “Naomi Lynch Day in the state of Connecticut.” It didn’t matter even a little that Naomi’s birthday is actually on Sunday, Sept. 5.
“My mother seems to be the bionic woman,” Kate Lynch said while the seniors in the adjacent room were wrapping up their midday meals. “There’s really nothing wrong with her aside from a few minor complaints.”
Kate didn’t have to think hard when asked to share a few tidbits about her mother.
With the proclamation from Gov. M. Jodi Rell nearby, Naomi Lynch reacts to the arrival of the cupcakes and candles. Photo: dotCANTON
“She drove until she was 98,” Kate said right away.
Kate recalled that Naomi worked in banks years ago, and that “she did the makeup for the Hartford Opera.”
These days?
“She walks every day, about a quarter mile,” Kate said. “Sometimes she’ll do it again later in the day. She goes to the Memorial Day parade every year, and to Lobsterfest. We just went. (And) she’s still remarkably independent for her age.”
Naomi, who remains well known to many in town for her years of work at the library (she didn’t retire until she was 90), continues to be a voracious reader, her daughter said. And “she is the oldest member of the Canton Center Congregational Church — that’s something she’s proud of,” Kate said.
Naomi also continues to stay active socially and is a regular visitor to the senior center, according to Claire Cote, the town’s senior & social services coordinator.
After Barlow and LeGeyt said a few words and Naomi was handed the proclamation from Rell, it was time to sing happy birthday and to bring out the cake … and the candles.
The cake arrived in the form of three large cupcakes (a favorite treat of Naomi’s, according to her daughter) bearing the numbers 1, 0 and 3. Lit candles were attached to two of the cupcakes, and Naomi handled that assignment with ease. Then she took the time to visit with a stranger who wanted to know how she felt about the Naomi Lynch Day proclamation.
Clearly pleased, she couldn’t resist a playful little jab. “They didn’t do it on my 100th,” she said with a smile. “But that’s all right with me.”
And the cupcakes? What did she think about them?
“On my 100th,” she recalled, “I supplied the cupcakes to everyone.”
As the party continued, Barlow spoke off to the side about his early recollections of Naomi Lynch, about how, as a boy, he would play basketball at a friend’s house and how he would occasionally have to chase an errant ball into Naomi’s yard.
LeGeyt then called Naomi one of Canton’s “great ladies. She’s just a legend,” he said.
