Page created by: Lindsay Lytle

Gay Ord Pollock Lynch was born on June 28, 1938 to Gertrude Ord Pollock and Charles Edward Pollock of San Rafael, California. She was a 3rd generation Marin County resident. She died on April 27, 2025 in Mill Valley, California. Her greatest loves were her husband of 59 years, John and their three children: Lindsay (Rob), John (Ellen) and Andrew, and her six grandchildren. She felt most alive in the out-of-doors with her loved ones or teaching.

Gay grew up with her beloved older brother Jim and younger brother Ted in San Rafael, Sacramento, and Hayward. Her childhood was filled with outside fun, siblings and shenanigans, learning to drive a Jeep at the age of 10 at the deer camp, and spending time with her grandparents and her beloved Aunt TT. Gay attended the Katharine Branson School in Ross and formed lifelong friendships there, reveling in athletics and captaining the Tam O’Shanters team. Basketball and softball were her strengths though enjoyment of a variety of sports continued through her life. Gay continued her schooling at UC Davis and then transferred to UC Berkeley though she did not initially finish her degree.

Gay met John while living in San Francisco in 1962. Sparks started to fly when Gay chatted up John who was waiting for a date with her roommate, and their relationship soon progressed to ice cream cones at Swensen’s, dinner at the Coachman, sports car races, and weekends with her family deer hunting or escaping to the Sierra Nevada. The two were lovestruck, remaining enchanted by one another for the 59 years they shared before John’s death in 2021. They found tender refuge in each other that neither could have imagined.

Life with husband, John, was busy and Gay always made it fun. While welcoming Lindsay (1964), John (1966) and Andrew (1969), the family lived in New York, Belgium, California and Norway. Gay’s grace and sense of play infused all she did. She was equally comfortable in a little black dress scented by Diorissimo on her way to a business dinner, and swimming, hiking, driving a Jeep and building bonfires alongside John and their children. Gay was the most beautiful water skier we have ever known. Her home was always open and full of her children’s friends, greeted by sodas and snacks and a Mom whose radiant smile let everyone know how truly welcome they were. She delighted in these days; tending her home and garden, driving her children everywhere, working late into many a night with her children on projects and papers, dancing with John whenever a favorite song was played, and using her gentle hands to throw a ball, cook something delicious and offer a loving touch.

Gay returned to UC Berkeley in 1988 to finish the degree she began before she was married. The impact of the “World Religions” course she took changed her life and awakened in her a curiosity and passion that fueled her for the rest of her life. Gay and her family suffered an immeasurable loss when youngest son, Andrew, died in his sleep in 1991 at the age of 21. Gay’s grief fueled her search for deeper meaning, leading her to Harvard Divinity School in her 50’s to complete a Master’s Degree in Religions of the World, where she lived in the dorms and studied with scholars who became lifelong friends. From there, she returned to the GTU at Berkeley and completed her PhD in the Cultural and Historical Study of Religions. New Dr. Lynch began teaching at Dominican University, where she had attended third grade and her children attended preschool and kindergarten. She taught courses on compassion and forgiveness, dance and spiritual expression, world religions, the rhetoric of belief and more. A scholar of world religions, she respected all faiths and particularly resonated with those teachings which celebrated the multiplicity of human experience and expression. Gay’s students say that her classroom was magic, that they were encouraged to be vulnerable and brave, that her validation of them was life changing and that they will never forget her. Gay felt the same way about her students. She constantly told her children tender stories about her students and expressed her gratitude for the support and care she felt from her Dominican colleagues.

Gay was a force of love, resilience and hope. Husband John experienced significant health issues towards the end of his life. Gay was his champion and caregiver, while also running their home and teaching full time. She walked this path with an open heart and strength that was incredible. She was actively engaged in her children and grandchildren’s lives, and was deeply grateful for the care of her precious friends.

Gay was diagnosed with PSP (Progressive Supranuclear Palsy) shortly after John’s death in 2021. She faced this diagnosis with her trademark gratitude for every day and wisdom. Gay moved from the home she shared for 50 years with her husband and children to The Redwoods Retirement Community in Mill Valley, drawn to the beauty of its natural surroundings and the wisdom of its residents, among whom were several of her Branson classmates. Gay continued her search for meaning in her new community, exchanging beloved poems and co-founding a group for grandparents of transgender people. Within her short two years at the Redwoods, Gay made deep friendships and her family is grateful for the care of their staff and her caregivers.

Gay was predeceased by her parents, Charles and Gertrude Pollock, brother Jim Pollock (Guila), husband John and son, Andrew. Gay is survived by cherished brother Ted Pollock (Eloise), children Lindsay Lynch Lytle (Robert James) and John Hampton Lynch IV (Ellen Therese Bartkowski); and grandchildren: Laura James Lytle, Kathryn Emeline Lytle, Parker Mitten Lynch, Nora Pollock Lynch, William Andrew Lytle and Willa Emeline Hampton Lynch; as well as her treasured nieces and nephews of the Pollock, Wittman, and Park families and beloved cousins of the Smith, Bryant and Ord families.

Gay was the light of our lives. She loved with her hands and her whole heart. She was grateful for every day and she made all feel cherished and special and deeply seen. Her family is thankful for your support as we navigate this tender time. A Memorial in honor of Gay will be held at Dominican University, Anne Hathaway Lawn, on Saturday, June 21, 2025 at 4pm. Please wear flat shoes as we will be in the garden.