June Diane (Kotka) Lynch

June Diane Lynch, our beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed from this life into eternity on February 13, 2024, at the age of 90. She was born in Duluth, Minnesota on June 2, 1933, to parents John and Gladys Kotka.  She grew up in Esko and Duluth and was a 1951 graduate of Central High School.  In 1952 June married Robert Lynch; at the time of his passing in 2016, they had been married for 64 years. June and Bob were blessed with three sons and two daughters. They raised their family in the community of Hermantown, where they lived for more than sixty years.

June was a devoted wife and mother who worked tirelessly to nurture her family and create a home filled with love, laughter, and a lifetime of cherished memories. She gave her family the most precious gift of all, the gift of her time. Her children often returned home from school to find her waiting with a listening ear, fresh baked bread, or warm cookies. She was a skilled homemaker and an excellent cook who loved to try new recipes. Her family was blessed to sit down together every night for a delicious home-cooked meal. She loved her home and the beauty that surrounded it. She found joy in planting flowers and maintaining a beautiful yard. She enjoyed watching the birds on her feeders and the deer and other wildlife that frequented her yard.

June was a life-long learner. She took singing lessons and cooking classes. She taught herself to sew, paint with oils, play the organ, and decorate cakes. She enjoyed photography, dancing, jigsaw puzzles, and cats. She loved learning and was continually studying and learning new things. In the months preceding her death, she began an earnest study of the Finnish language using the Duolingo app on her iPad. She shared her many talents with others. She enjoyed working with children at church and in the community. She worked for the Hermantown Schools for twenty years.   

Family history was one of her greatest passions. She was instrumental in setting up and organizing the Family History Center for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Duluth, where she served for more than forty years. She loved teaching others about genealogy and helping them with their personal research. She spent many years tracing her own family history and was able to link many generations of her family over hundreds of years.  She gathered names and dates and personal stories and passed on the information and her love of family history to her children and grandchildren. In recent years she was especially grateful for the technology that improved research and made records more available. June was also a member of the Twin Ports Genealogical Society in Duluth. She cherished her relationships with other members of this group and enjoyed sharing her knowledge and talents and learning from them as well.

June was a gifted listener who touched the lives of her family and many friends with her kindness and caring; she was always willing to share a bit of her wisdom and advice. She was a peacemaker and an eternal optimist. She had a great sense of humor and loved to laugh. She lived a life of service to her family, friends, community, and church. June was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

June was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Bob Lynch; and great-grandson, Noah Jakeman.

June is survived by her 5 children, Craig (Donna) Lynch, Pamela (Evan) Beck, John (Tiffany) Lynch, James (Wendy) Lynch, and Molly (Dan) Kenning; 15 grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren.

Visitation to be held at 10:00 AM on Saturday, March 2nd at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 521 Upham Road, Duluth, Minnesota, with Funeral Service to follow at 11:00 AM. Interment at Sunrise Memorial Park Cemetery, Hermantown, Minnesota.

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