Obituary of Stanford R. Lynch

Stanford was born on a wintery Indiana morning, January 21, 1932, to John M and Beatrice Lynch in Huron, Indiana. Stan was an only child, but his father was the oldest of fifteen. He enjoyed the rural life as a young boy and often spoke of his experiences growing up with the animals and the daily life of a working farm. In August of that year, he graduated high school at Carthage High School in 1950 and married Annalee Faris, the Methodist pastor's youngest child. He reached the rank of First Sargeant in the US Army, leading a howitzer unit in the Korean Conflict. They expanded the family to four boys. Stan preached as a lay pastor at Fletcher Methodist Church, where Annalee's father had once pastored. He was employed by the local paper mill as a young man when the process used straw bales, piling up dusty mountains of straw for the procedure. He helped transition to wood pulp then helped to install the environmental protection process to deal with pollutants. In the late 1960s, the family attended the Church of the Nazarene, and Stan gave his life entirely to Christ, answering the call to preach, as he would say it, after struggling with that assignment for several years. This conversion and surrender led to young group leadership, preaching, and finally moving the family to Monrovia, Indiana, in 1969, to pastor a struggling "flat tire," as the district leader labeled the dying Church of the Nazarene. There were four people present for the first service besides the family. Stan often said, "I would rather preach than eat fried chicken if God is present, but I'd rather eat fried chicken if He isn't." He enjoyed preaching, shouting, and running the aisles, developing as a church leader and teacher by continuous reading. He had seen Billy Graham preaching with a large Dickson Bible. The big Bible would open and hang down on either side of the evangelist's hand. Stan carried a big Bible to the pulpit, and those Bibles are cherished possessions of his children and grandchildren now. He wore out several and always had a Dickson until he couldn't buy them anymore, at which time the three preachers--Stan and two of his sons--bought Thompson Chain Reference Bibles. The ministry grew, expanded, and matured. Stan worked at Brehob Electric Company in Indianapolis while leading that congregation, often driving deliveries through the city listening to preaching on the transistor radio. In 1973, Stan and Annalee accepted the invitation to pastor the First Church of the Nazarene in Connersville, Indiana. Stan marked his ministry history with a passion for God's presence and maturing people in their Christian walk during several notable revivals. Stan continued his love for working the soil everywhere he lived. He always had a garden that included strawberries, as much garden as the lot would allow. In Carthage, that garden was considerable. The parsonage sat on a smaller lot in Monrovia, but the backyard was tilled, worked, planted, and cultivated. In Connersville, dad found some land to work that later became the new location for the church. When the couple moved there, this lifestyle also continued in Martinsville, Indiana. A considerable lot with an expanded area to cultivate, Stan raised his seedlings and some great potatoes in the sandy loam. Here, too, Stan continued the interest in antiques gained from his parents, who had owned Busy Bee Antiques in Carthage. He furnished all the houses where they lived with antiques, and Stan would keep his hands busy in that as a trade for many years. Stan and Annalee led a country church outside Martinsville for several years. Dinner on the grounds. Singings. Revivals meetings. Stan was preaching on Sunday. Eventually, they settled into a different rhythm of life and an empty nest. Then, they made a big move to Brainerd, Minnesota, to locate near their oldest son, Michael. They pastored the Church of the Nazarene in Hewitt, Minnesota, then moved to Kalona, Iowa, when Michael accepted the leadership of the First Church of the Nazarene in Iowa City. Stan set up his basement workshop and successfully produced specialty items for antique shops and markets for several years. The backyard became a large garden, nearly as large as his expansive garden in Carthage, Indiana. Losing his wife of sixty years on Christmas Day, 2011, Stan remained in his Kalona home until his move to assisted living in 2021. Stanford R. Lynch is preceded in death by his wife, Annalee, and his son Andrew Morgan. His legacy continues with three sons, Michael, Donald, and Edward, and a strong legacy of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. He is interred Annalee at Everton Methodist cemetery in Everton, Indiana. Stan often said, "To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord." Funeral services will be held at 12 noon Monday, January 24, 2022, at Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service in Iowa City. There will be a time of visitation prior to the services and following the services. Internment will take place at the Everton Cemetery in Connersville, Indiana with the date to be determined, in lieu of flowers memorial donations can be made in Stanford’s memory to ICC Compassion with the below link: https://iccompassion.churchcenter.com/giving/to/stanford-lynch-memorial