Michael Francis Lynch:
Firefighter, Fisherman And Family Peacemaker
When Michael Francis Lynch told his father that he
wanted to join the fire department, John Lynch tried his
darnedest to douse the idea.
Safety concerns prompted him to ask his son to drop
his plan. But Lynch, the seventh of 10 children of two
Irish immigrants, was headstrong. "He told me his whole
ambition was to become a firefighter," his father said.
"The day he became a firefighter was the happiest day of
his life. He was ecstatic about firefighting. He loved
people and loved to help people."
But Lynch's love also was focused on one person in
particular. On Nov. 16, he was to marry his teenage
sweetheart, Stephanie Luccioni, a guidance counselor at
Christ the King Regional High School in Middle
Village.
That Lynch might choose a career in public service was
not surprising given that he often played the role of
diplomat in a Throgs Neck, Bronx, household where verbal
fisticuffs could break out at the drop of a hat. "We
called him 'the Peacemaker,'" his father said. "In a big
family like ours, everyone had different political
affiliations. He didn't like conflict. He'd always defuse
arguments with a joke or one- liner."
In his off hours, Lynch, who sported a Celtic Cross
tattoo on his left arm, could often be found working as a
DJ at weddings and parties in Throgs Neck, tailoring the
music to the crowd and making sure the dance floor was
filled. In his leisure time, he frequently took rod and
reel in hand along with his fiancee, his father or
another relative or friend. Inevitably, fishing outings -
whether to Florida or to the waters around Throgs Neck -
became a contest to see who could land "the big one."
"There was always competition," his father said. "With
the whole family. It puts a little spice in it."
Lynch, a graduate of Cardinal Spellman High School and
Iona College, joined the New York Fire Department in 1999
and was assigned to Ladder Co. 32/Engine Co. 62. On Sept.
11, Lynch, 30, was on rotation to Engine Co. 40 in
Manhattan. The day of the terrorist attacks, he was last
seen at the corner of Church and Liberty streets,
probably on his way to Tower Two shortly before it
collapsed.
In the days afterward, his father walked through
Ground Zero with two of his sons, coming to grips with
the reality that Lynch would not return.
In addition to his parents, John and Kathleen, Lynch
is survived by his brother John and his wife, LouAnn, of
Cincinnati; sister Kathleen and her husband, Mark
Multerer, of Buffalo; sister Maureen and her husband,
Thomas Baker, of Westfield, N.J.; brother Fred and his
wife, Ruth, of Chester, N.J.; brother Patrick of
Manhattan; brother Kevin and his wife, Deborah, of
Huntington; brother Thomas and his wife, Tracy, of the
Bronx; sister Colleen and her husband, Jason Parigen, of
Cincinnati, and brother Paul of Throgs Neck.
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