Ian Fletcher Lynch

1988 - 2016

The world lost a most wonderful, kind, adventurous and spiritual young man when Ian Fletcher Lynch passed away in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, June 25, 2016.
Ian, a native of Ashfield, Massachusetts, died of cardiac arrest at the age of 27. He had been diagnosed with cardiomyopathy in March and had been facing up to the gravity of that heart muscle condition with dignity and strength. He was born Oct. 27, 1988.
Ian loved the outdoors and embraced the Tetons and the Snake River in Jackson Hole as his home for the last five years. As a highly skilled river raft guide, he brought love and joy to every child and adult who roared through the rapids with him on both the Deerfield River in Charlemont, Massachusetts, and the Snake River in Wyoming.
He loved his work as a guide with Crab Apple Whitewater in Massachusetts and then with Dave Hansen Whitewater in Jackson Hole. Ian was passionate about his love of the great rivers in our country and was able to raft many of them, in particular the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon for 24 days last fall.
Rafting there was a lifelong dream for Ian and he was thrilled that he got the chance to do it. A highlights reel of Ian's rafting skills can be found on YouTube.
The love of his life was Kaitlyn Cahill of Brookline, Massachusetts, with whom he lived in Jackson Hole. They had been planning to marry in the near future. Ian was devoted to family, playing the Pied Piper to his adoring younger cousins and greeting his mother after absences by picking her up and twirling her around.
After moving to Wyoming, Ian became passionate about the Teton mountain range. He worked at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort for the last five years as a lift operator and during that time, in the words of his many friends in Jackson, became a fearless snowboarder. He knew the ins and outs of that mountain resort like no other.
Ian loved to fly fish on the Snake, although when asked if he caught anything, he would say that that's why they call it fishin' and not catchin'. He loved to cook, loved music and he loved to read. Ian wrote beautiful poetry and would be as much at peace with a good book as with anything else.
Ian graduated from Mohawk Trail Regional High School in 2007 and earned a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2011. He played football while at Mohawk and loved the sport of lacrosse, playing with Catamount Lacrosse at Indoor Action in Bernardston, Massachusetts.
Ian was also a skilled practitioner in the martial art of Tae Kwon Do and studied the art in his younger years with his father at Ashfield Tae Kwon Do.
Ian is survived by his mother, Lindsey Fletcher-Lynch, and his father, Roger Lynch of Ashfield, Massachusetts; and his sister, Molly Seaver, and her husband, Jesse Seaver, of Sausalito, California. He is also survived by his grandmother, Evelyn Lynch, of Mashpee, Massachusetts; his uncle, Robert Lynch, and aunt, Diane Brace, of Washington, D.C.; his uncle, Donald Lynch, and aunt, Leslie Lynch of Ipswich, Massachusetts, and their children, Lauren, Hillary and Hanna; and his aunt Sarah-Ann Healy and uncle Kevin Healy of Potomac, Maryland, and their children, Mariah, Garret and Dylan.
He is also survived by his aunt, Deborah Enright, of Hummelston, Pennsylvania; her daughter, Barbara Anastasia, of San Diego, California; his uncle, Burton Fletcher of Abingdon, Virginia, and aunt, Lynn Fletcher of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and their children, Casey Fletcher and Elizabeth Purcel.
Ian was predeceased by his grandfather, Robert L. Lynch, his grandmother, Barbara J. Fletcher, and his cousin, Richard "Dickie" Anastasia.
In lieu of flowers, the family will establish a scholarship fund to support outdoor education through Mohawk Trail Regional High School. As of July 6, contributions may be sent to the Ian Fletcher Lynch Spirit of the River Adventure Scholarship in care of Greenfield Savings Bank, 400 Main St., PO 1537, Greenfield MA 01302-1537. Donations can also be made at any Greenfield Savings Bank branch.
A memorial service will be held Friday, July 8, 2016, at 4 p.m. at the First Congregational Church at 429 Main St. in Ashfield, with a celebration of life to follow at the Curtis House at 14 South St. in Ashfield.
On Saturday, July 9, 2016, conditions permitting, there will be raft and tube float down the Deerfield River. For information on that event, visit www.weloveian.com, where the family will post updated information.