Paula Denise Lynch

Paula Denise Lynch, 54, of Clover SC and formerly of Aubrey, TX peacefully went to be with her Lord and Savior just before sunrise Tuesday, December 28, 2021.  At the time of her passing Paula was in the hospital in Matthews, NC with her husband at her side.  She was born October 31, 1967 in Brussels, Belgium, daughter of Raymond (“Skip”) and Mina Lou (“Penny”) Dunigan, and sister to Raymond and Patrick.

Extremely outgoing by nature, Paula truly never met a stranger. She always cared how someone was doing and made it a point to take the time to stop and visit. Paula spent her childhood moving from place to place as a military daughter. At age 12, she made a permeant landing in Central Texas when her father retired from the Army.

As soon as she was legally able to, Paula started working, sometimes up to three jobs at a time to afford the things she wanted. However, service to others was never far from her experience.  In her late teens through mid-twenties Paula worked in State of Texas run group homes, as well as a work co-op for the mentally challenged.  In 1990 she married her husband Kevin when he was serving in the Army in Fort Hood, TX.  After Kevin left the Army, he and Paula moved to Denton Texas in 1994 so Kevin could attend college.  When their daughter Kelsey was born in 1995, Paula decided to start in in-home, state certified day care, to ensure Kelsey would be raised in the home until she was ready for school.

When Kelsey started first grade in 2001, Paula decided to utilize her God-given talents and started her own art business doing murals, portraits and faux finishing.  This business, called “Wallskapes”, went strong until the downturn in the economy in 2008.

In 2010 Paula became involved with a non-profit group called Loving South Africa (LSA), a program dedicated to helping the widows and orphans of AIDS victims in the AIDS epicenter of the world.  In addition to using her creative skills to aid the organizations outreach efforts, she accompanied organizational leaders on a mission trip to KwaZulu Natal South Africa to see first-hand the impact of the organization.  This was definitely one of the high points in Paula’s life and in her walk with Christ.

In 2013 Paula decided to return to work with children, this time at a private preschool in Plano, TX.  In 2015 this work transitioned into an administrator role for another private preschool in the area.  In 2016 Paula went to work as an administrative assistant and receptionist for the same company as her husband in Dallas.  In 2017 Kevin and Paula relocated to the Charlotte, NC area, and eventually found their dream home on the far eastern edge of Clover, SC in 2018.  It was at this time that Paula started her final position as an office manager for an engineering firm in Charlotte which she held until being affected by a COVID layoff in the summer of 2020.

Through it all, Paula always leaned most-heavily on her faith in her Lord and Savior.  This faith driven life resulted in a constant desire to give back.  Most notable was her work with a makeshift group called the “Random Act of Kindness” in Dallas from 2013-2017.  During this four-year period Paula organized a combination of individual an organizational volunteers who would make monthly trips to downtown Dallas to distribute donated supplies to the homeless.  In between these monthly trips, you would often find Paula helping the people she met in Dallas with their specific situations. It’s hard to truly know how many lives she touched during that time, but one thing we know for sure is that Paula’s drive to serve was relentless and she was fully committed to “walking the talk” in whatever way she could.

In early December of 2020 the awful news of Paula’s cancer diagnosis descended upon the Lynch family.  The 13 months that followed were difficult and often downright brutal for Paula. Yet through it all, Paula proclaimed her faith and used the circumstances of her diagnosis to further spread the word of God to all that would listen.  She was a wonderful example of living a surrendered life, despite even the most challenging circumstances.  After a long fight, the end came swiftly for Paula once she understood and accepted that the burden of disease was too great for her body to fight, and thanks to the loving mercy of the Lord, her final transition was quick and peaceful.

Most important to Paula was her faith, followed by her family and she will forever be remembered as an extremely loving and devoted wife, mother, sister, daughter, aunt and friend.   She leaves a lasting legacy to be cherished by her survivors, her husband of 31 years, Kevin Patrick Lynch, and her daughter Kelsey Taylor Lynch.

A graveside funeral Service will be held for Paula at 1:00 on January 8, 2022 at the Memorial Gardens, adjacent to the Bass-Cauthen Funeral Home in Rock Hill, SC.

The family would like to extend their most sincere appreciation to all of the Novant Health nurses, physicians and staff that were always immensely kind to Paula during her journey.  As well as all of her extended family and friends scattered around the country for their unwavering compassion and support.  Your kindness and love will never be forgotten.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial donations be made to one of the following three charities:

The X-for Boys (thexforboys.org)
Charlotte Family Housing (charlottefamilyhousing.org)
Roof Above (roofabove.org)