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Lynn Foeller Daly / Nana / Grandma Lynn
Mother to John (Terese) and Marcus (Kelly)
Grandmother to:
Annelise, Jack, Michael
Ciely, Jerome, Stephen, Autumn, Marianna, Thomas, Dorothy and Lucy
A faithful member of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish from 1969 on, Lynn served as an Eucharistic Minister and as a Lector up until recently. She was a daily communicant who demonstrated her faith through everyday prayer and everyday action. OLA was her spiritual home, and when she downsized from the house nearby where she raised her boys, she chose to move to a lovely apartment within a short walk to daily Mass, keeping her corporal and spiritual selves fit at the same time.
She remained physically active, not giving up her bike until her late 70s and enjoyed tennis doubles matches well into her 80s! These last few years she continued to go to the fitness center and even during the pandemic closure continued to participate in online Tai Chi and exercise classes offered through the Surrey Club, as well as continuing her daily walks.
Lynn always gave of herself and looked for ways to help others. She volunteered for many years with Surrey Senior Services, and even as recently as March was driving other seniors to doctors appointments. She looked for ways to be of service during the long months of this pandemic, offering to take food to Our Brother’s House shelter in Philadelphia, as part of the OLA Outreach. Not being able to help more was a source of frustration for her. In past years she was a guide in Fairmount Park. She also enjoyed mingling with the crowd and selling raffle tickets for fundraisers at the Devon Horse Show each year.
Lynn was an active alumna of her beloved alma mater, Radnor High School, class of 1949. In recent years she organized class reunions and looked forward to meeting up with her old pals. She continued on in her education at Georgetown Visitation after Radnor.
Lynn spent many years working as as a secretary/administrative assistant, keeping things running in her efficient, organized and competent manner. She especially enjoyed working at Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships, which allowed her to meet interesting, learned people from all over the world. It also gave her the opportunity to live, work and make many friends in Center City, where she also met her late husband Jack.
While raising her boys, Lynn was known as “the Science Lady”, preparing labs at New Eagle Elementary School. Her various temp jobs often led to job offers in the local business community.
Always reading, listening and learning about the world around her, she had considerable recommendations for books, movies and plays and would readily critique them in a forthright manner, even if that meant holding her nose and signaling to her theater companions “let’s skip the second act and go get a drink”!
Lynn had been taking classes at Immaculata’s Lifelong Learning program for several years, and found many subjects interesting. It was her great pleasure to be able to have lunch on campus with her granddaughter, Annie, when she started college there her freshman year. They chatted about school, politics, social issues, just as any students would.
Lynn always maintained an active social calendar, one that could be a bit hard for the less outgoing to keep up with. She has been a patron of almost every museum, theater, ballet, garden and library in the area that you can think of, and could give you a good restaurant recommendation near there as well.
She had a large group of close friends and was always interested in meeting someone new. Her friends were also travel companions and fellow volunteers, and they would see her regularly for a get-together or to see a movie or whatever good cultural attraction was going on at the time. She belonged to a great book club and enjoyed the meaningful discussions of whatever was being presented by the group. Lynn made new friends easily and kept old friendships alive in her heart always. We know that the absence of her up-beat personality will be missed greatly by many. Her friends truly meant the world to her.
Traveling was another great love of Lynn’s and she visited almost every part of the world. She drove up to St. John’s, Newfoundland from Wayne to visit John and Terese when they were first married and living there. She was still making cross country trips to immerse herself in the busy, loving family life of Marc and Kelly on Vashon Island in Washington State. Lynn had been all over the US of course, but did not prefer to sit on a beach in a retirement community. Traveling was a means of learning and experiencing new things for her. In recent years she had been to Scandinavia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Turkey, Greece, the Middle East, Tierra del Fuego, the Galapagos Islands, Africa, Vietnam and elsewhere. It was hard to keep up with her: “Didn’t I tell you? I’ll be gone for 3 weeks in May, I’m going to (insert exotic locale).” She might be whitewater rafting in West Virginia, up through New England to see friends or on a weekend jaunt with a pal. Of course, among her most favorite trips were the summers she spent visiting her beloved brother, Jerry, in California with her boys and her mother. As a child, she often traveled with her family to visit relatives in St. Louis. John often would say “Wait, where is my mother going?” and we had to regularly refer to her extensive itinerary to answer that question! She especially loved a trip to the Holy Land with a group from OLA.
Lynn’s joy of life was her trademark. She loved to share her excitement and was well known as an Eagles fan, savoring their Super Bowl victory and donning a rubber Eagle’s mask to cheer them on. She was also well known to enjoy a glass of wine with friends.
Her greatest joy, however, was what she termed “her wonderful family”. She could not have been prouder of each of her grandchildren, Ciely, Jerome, Stephen, Autumn, Marianna, Tommy, Dorothy and Lucy and Annie, Jack and Michael. She was always interested in their latest activities and what they were learning. She nicknamed them “Stretch” and “Dee-Dee”, and everyone of them was “Sweetie.” She would always enter and exit each gathering with her arms out and a request for a “big hug!” She loved to brag of their talents and accomplishments and would always find time in her busy schedule to attend their performances, be there for their sacraments and to offer words of encouragement or the occasional reminder to use your napkin or pick up your shoes. There is no replacement for this, but each grandchild was a bright star, always visible to her.
Her greatest source of pride and joy were her two sons, John and Marcus, who she sometimes said were so different, but in reality were the same in their heartfelt devotion to her, in their respect for her wisdom and in their love of learning, care for others, joy of life and strong faith, which are Lynn’s legacy.
Lynn, we thank you for those great gifts to our families, friends and community, and your unfailing generosity. While we cannot repay these gifts, we are eternally thankful for giving us the all the lives we have.
Relatives and friends are invited to her visitation, Friday September 11, 2020 from 10-10:45 am at Our Lady of the Assumption 35 Old Eagle School Road Wayne, PA 19087 followed by her Funeral Mass at 11am. Live streaming of Lynn's Funeral Mass will start at 10:55am via the following link. https://www.facebook.com/OLAChurch/
Interment will be private.
Donations may be made to:
Surrey Services for Seniors
60 Surrey Way, Devon PA 19333
Web: https://surreyservices.org/292-2/
St. Labre Indian School
Ashland MT 59004
Tel: 1-866-753-5496
Web: https://www.stlabre.org/
The School for Special Children c/o The Archdiocese of Philadelphia ATTN: Office of Catholic Educati
222 North 17th Street, Philadelphia PA 19103
Web: https://secure.acceptiva.com/?cst=29aa55
St. Labre Indian School
Ashland MT 59004
Tel: 1-866-753-5496
Web: https://www.stlabre.org/
The School for Special Children c/o The Archdiocese of Philadelphia ATTN: Office of Catholic Educati
222 North 17th Street, Philadelphia PA 19103
Web: https://secure.acceptiva.com/?cst=29aa55
Surrey Services for Seniors
60 Surrey Way, Devon PA 19333
Web: https://surreyservices.org/292-2/