Lynch Father Legacy

Gail & George Lynch III with Children Stephanie & George IV

A happy family of the 1980s. A businessman, Yacht Club Commodore, and proud father. George Alfred Lynch III, my Dad.

Carrying on the family name-sake, my father named me George Alfred Lynch IV. I was also the first grandson for both sides of grandparents. My future was planned way before I was even born.

Father's Day 2012, 30 years after this photo was taken. That cute little bundle of smiles in his daddy's arms... me! Now a father of two and continuing the name-sake with my son, George Alfred Lynch V.

Out of everything a father has to give to his child, his legacy is the only thing that lasts.

Sadly, as I have shared before, this family moment did not last. My mother and father separated about five years after this photo. Our family went from picture perfect to long distance divorce with 935 miles separating us. Growing up without dad was difficult. He wasn't a bad guy, just not there. If we needed something materially or financially he would always meet that need. But the very image in the picture is what I longed for most.

Enough with the sad stuff. This Father's Day I want to honor the fathers in our family. The Lynch family is large to say the least. I don't know most of them due to the geographical distance, but I keep track of some on social sites like Facebook. There appears to be a lot of great "Lynch Dads" in our family. I want to share with you from the immediate Lynch/Feaster Family...

This is my Great Grandfather,William Feaster, my mom's grandfather. I don't know a whole lot about him. He had two children. William Feaster helped build and start the Bordentown Yacht Club in Bordentown, N.J., becoming their first Commodore. He was a member of the Delaware River Yachtsman's League. Great Granddad helped with legislation for safety and environmental issues on the river. Grandpa Feaster owned and operated a family jewelry store in Bordentown for over 50 years. He was a long standing member of the Elks. He was highly loved and well respected in the community. Feasterville, Pennsylvania was named after his family. Growing up, I remember hearing stories of his love for the Yacht Club and that he was a master boatman.

My Grandpop, William Feaster Jr. He was a father of two ( one being my beautiful mother). His son, my Uncle Billy, became a paraplegic at a very young age. Grandpop took care of him for 22 years until Uncle Billy's untimely death. He was also a Commodore for the Bordentown Yacht Club and a Member of the Elks. He took over the family jewelry store until his move to Florida, continuing his jeweling trade in Vero Beach, Fl. He was on his high school basketball team and eventually joined the Navy serving in Korea. He was a great family provider and kind man. Bill was well liked in the communities he lived in and served. I was closest to him as far as grandparents go. We lived with him upon my parents divorce. My most prominent memory of him is how he would always make me eat my lima beans! I hated them. I would sit at the table crying because of the battle of wills over beans. One holiday (Christmas or Thanksgiving) as family and friends gathered, I was beside myself with fear due to the lima bean battle. I just knew he would make it a point for me to eat them in front of everyone. My dear grandmother saw my grief and let me in on a little secret. "Your Grandfather does not like cooked carrots. We will be having them with dinner. If he starts in on you, tell him you will eat your lima beans if he eats his carrots." When the moment came, I had worked up enough gusto to do as instructed by Grandmom. The entire table laughed and Grandpop Bill lovingly let up on me.  

My PopPop, George Alfred Lynch II, was a father of three boys. George served in the military and was stationed in New Guinea during WWII. Also a member of the Elks and a skilled boatman. George II was a master mechanic and loved hot rods. He owned and operated Lynch's Garage in Bordentown, NJ. In the towing and crane service, he was an innovator of the day. His methods and expertise on the New Jersey Turnpike are legendary, well documented and very unorthodox for his time. Great family stories are built around PopPop's antics and they make for some great laughs. When I think of him, Bill Cosby comes to mind because PopPop would always make funny faces at us. The memories I have of him before his passing are ones filled with love for his grandchildren. I'm told he took joy in pushing us around in a little black baby carriage. Some of my most memorable moments with him are going into his office and playing with his hand held radio, or when he would drive us around the junk yard in the little 3 gear Army jeep he had. Stories told about PopPop are ones I never get tired of hearing.

My Dad, George Alfred Lynch III. Father of three; a daughter, Stephanie and two boys, George & Robert (not born yet in top picture). Growing up, I remember a loving husband and father. Whatever problems caused my parents divorce, us kids did not see or hear of it. Dad was a Commodore at the Bordentown Yacht Club and a master boatman also. He was a hard worker on-call 24/7 with Lynch's Garage. His expertise was crane services. A Lincoln Technical Institute Grad and master mechanic, he loved hot rods and could assemble and dissemble an automobile mostly from memory. George III was well respected and loved in the community. I have early memories of playing Duck Hunt with him on the first Nintendo. I remember a couple of fishing trips and a boat show he took me to. I have to hand it to my dad, though he wasn't there most of my life, even after the divorce he never stopped trying to connect with us kids. He would call weekly to see how we were doing. We went to New Jersey to stay with him on a couple of summer occasions. If we ever needed anything and he could do it, it was done. When I was in trouble with the law, he was there to help anyway he could. I toggled back and forth with blame for my parents divorce. In the end, I find the blame game causes too much pain. Distance and divorce is enough hurt upon relationships as it is. Today, I choose to honor my father for doing the best he knew how to do.

Then there's me, George Alfred Lynch IV. I always wanted to be a father, but with the way my early life was heading, I wasn't sure I would have the chance. Alcohol, drugs, and crime had a choke hold on my young adult years. I landed myself in prison and was lucky to be alive. When trying to explain my lifestyle to my father, he couldn't comprehend the struggles I went through. They were practically non-existent in the world he was structured in. In prison, I was trying to come to grips with the disaster I had made of such a family legacy and name-sake. The George A. Lynch's before me had my life all planned out. Carrying the family lineage, taking over the family business or becoming a state police officer, were my fathers plans for my life. How far I had gone from any resemblance of such a dream. From the opposite side of the tracks I trampled on these plans. From the hurt of distance and divorce, I told myself I would never name my son after the family line. Yet in 2009, my wife and I found out we were having a baby boy! Something in my heart began to change. I wanted to pass on a legacy. Only one problem... I didn't have a legacy to pass.

Psalm 139:13

  "For You formed my inward parts;  You wove me in my mother's womb."

Jeremiah 29:11

  "For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."

 They call me "Daddy"! George Alfred Lynch V & Lilly Marie Josephine Lynch. I have been blessed with two beautiful children as of today. I love being a father! With each new day I learn something new about fatherhood, myself, and life altogether. With all I have been through, the destruction I have caused and the pain inflicted and afflicted, God says He formed me in my mother's womb. He knew me from the beginning. The plans for my life were set by Him and they were plans of welfare and not calamity, a future and a hope!

My legacy today is one of Amazing Grace on a wretch like me. The Father's plan all along was to pull me out of the miry clay and set my feet upon the Rock. All the riches in the world, all the material possessions, all the heritages and name-sakes cannot compare to a legacy that says... God is real and He loves us. My life and legacy will be one of redemption and grace only found In Christ.

Today an ex-drug addict and criminal stands before his children as a respected pastor, public speaker, writer, loving husband and father, but most of all a follower of Christ. If there is ever a legacy I want to leave for my children and my children's children.... this is it. All because the Father loves us so much He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have Everlasting Life.

The Lynch/Feaster forefathers were great men of principle. They led note worthy lives, invested in their communities, loved and provided for their families. Only wishing I had known them better, these men left legacies still in conversations today. I thought I had lost their legacy, but it wasn't until this very moment, the words of this article, that I realized I have not. God had a plan for my life. He has brought me full circle being able to leave a Lynch Father Legacy that will stand with the greats. Happy Father's Day Lynch/Feasters and the rest of you Fathers out there!  

1st John 2:12-14

"I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name's sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one."

Like what you've read? Leave a comment & join our site.

Here are some other ways you can connect

with the Lynch Family...