Katherine Lynch, active at St. Peter Church in Port Washington, dies at 100

Katherine "Kay" Lynch was welcoming to all, a woman who enjoyed organizing holiday parties for scores of people in her home well into her 90s, and a matriarch who kept track of birthdays and celebrations of her sprawling family. 

She loved her family, her church and "simply wanted to give to others," family members said.

Lynch died Monday in her sleep of natural causes in her home in Port Washington, her family said. She had celebrated her 100th birthday on June 25. 

"I think the biggest thing is Ma, having come from simple roots, always wanted to give to others," said her daughter Mary Nuzzolese of Port Washington, the youngest of Lynch's five children. "She loved her parish," St. Peter of Alcantara Roman Catholic Church in Port Washington," where Lynch was a devoted parishioner for more than 70 years, the family said.

The hallmarks of Lynch's life were her engaging personality and willingness to serve others. She was the "heart and soul" of the family of 60 people, Gus Nuzzolese, a son-in-law, said. The family included Lynch's five children and their spouses, 15 grandchildren and their spouses and 20 great-grandchildren, plus three more on the way. 

"Even up to the morning of her death, she held her latest great-granddaughter," Mary Nuzzolese said.

For her 100th birthday, Mary Nuzzolese said the family "wallpapered her bedroom with all of the cards that came in, and we stopped counting at 120. She insisted on emailing everyone" to thank them.

Gus Nuzzolese said his mother-in-law had a sharp mind until the end. "She had super leadership and organizational skills. ...Those skills stayed with her to her last days, when she'd be writing things to do in her calendar and keeping track of 60 birthdays."

She opened her home to many.

"I think it's just really memorable that up to my mom's last days, she hosted every holiday at her house for 30 to 50 people," Mary Nuzzolese said. "If she heard anybody at church didn't have a place to go, they were welcome. Mom would always open her door because she wanted to include everybody."

Gus Nuzzolese said Lynch was technically savvy, owning two iPads and a cellphone.

"She regularly sent emails, he said. "She was a really amazing, competent woman. She could download photos, she could create shortcuts, she knew how to research."

Katherine A. Lynch (nee Dolson) was born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. She married a World War II veteran, James Lynch, who became a maritime lawyer, in 1947. He died in 2012, at age 90.

The couple, who were living in Bay Ridge in a one-bedroom apartment, decided to move out to Long Island with their five children in the mid-1950s, settling in Port Washington, Gus Nuzzolese said. 

Lynch became immersed in the parish life of St. Peter of Alcantara, a recipient of the St. Agnes Medal of Service. She also volunteered for more than 40 years at St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn, and was a founding member of The Immaculate Heart of Mary League at Our Lady of Grace Center, Manhasset, and a "perennial seller of raffles" for the Chaminade Golf Outing, her family said.

After her own children received their college degrees, Lynch, who had been a stay-at-home mother, decided to get a college degree as well. She graduated cum laude from St. John's University in 1983, with a double major in American history and theology, said Gus Nuzzolese. 

Besides Mary and Gus Nuzzolese, Lynch's survivors include daughters, Barbara Loughlin of Maryland, Patricia Lynch of Manhasset, and Anne Dussel of Glen Head; and a son, Jay Lynch of Garden City.

Visitation is scheduled for 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at Fairchild Sons Funeral Chapel in Manhasset. A funeral Mass is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Peter of Alcantara Church in Port Washington; interment is to follow at Nassau Knolls Cemetery in Port Washington.

By Olivia Winslow

olivia.winslow@newsday.com@newsollie