James Lynch

James Vernon Lynch died unexpectedly at his residence on June 19, 2025. He was only 55 years old. The family is deeply saddened and shocked by his sudden death. James was born on April 13, 1970.

James is survived and missed by his loving wife of 19 years, Julie (née Winslow), and children James W. S. Lynch, Elizabeth Bell, Jonathan Bell (Treisy), Anthony Bell, Kirby Bell (Alyssa), Kelley Bell, and Katie McCue (née Bell) (Patrick). He is also survived by his brother, Otto (Colleen); his niece and nephews Sarah (Cade), Aaron (Kayla), Nathan (Cierra); his grand nieces and nephews Savannah, Kerrigan, Theodore, Otto, and Amara; and his grandchildren Fionn and Fia. James was preceded in death by his mother, Sally and his father James.

He was born in San Luis Obispo, California, the son of James Jay Lynch, a Captain in the California Division of Forestry (now called CalFire), and Sally Kathleen Lynch, a devoted homemaker. As a child, James made himself at home in rural fire stations up and down the Central Coast -climbing fire trucks and befriending his father's colleagues by challenging them to rounds of ping pong and occasionally sleepwalking into the barracks. When his father was promoted to Chief and they moved to Clear Lake, James and his brother Otto spent many of their days hunting and fishing in the Mendocino National Forest, returning every night to the safe haven and home-cooked meals provided by their mother.

James was active in sports, including golf, baseball, and basketball, and received a scholarship in basketball to The College of the Redwoods. He received his bachelor's with honors at College of Charleston, South Carolina, and his master's at the University of Kentucky. He defended his PhD thesis on Colonial American history and was a published expert on Thomas Paine.

His love of books led him to meet the love of his life, Julie, at a library book sale in Greensburg, Indiana. Julie had spotted him previously in Kentucky at another book sale, tossing a frisbee to his beloved Border Collie, Madison, but it was in Greensburg where they remember the first sparks glow as they bonded over their mutual love of books and history. They continued to cross paths in libraries and university book sales, and James eventually moved to Ohio to be close to Julie. They were married in the Spring of 2006.

In 2006, James went from being single with one dog to married with six children, two more dogs, five cats, and two birds. In 2007, they all welcomed baby Jamie into the family. James and Julie continued to collect, sell, and publish books under their business, Commonwealth Book Company.

With the house in Maineville bursting at the seams with books, children, and pets, James searched for a house big enough for their lives to expand. He eventually found and renovated the Brown County Inn, a 170-year-old house with good bones and the promise of many a good cup of coffee on the porch. His mother, Sally, joined the household as our beloved "Getma" soon after. Getma and James would frequently joke around and bring out the mischief in each other.

Over the years he managed to be adopted by more cats than he ever asked for. He and his children bonded over sprawling homemade strategy games, DIY projects, hammock hangouts in our woods, and the intelligence of crows. He had a gift for injecting a little bit of magic into the mundane with clever, if sometimes ill-advised, solutions to projects around the house.

One of James' great passions later in life was publishing. His integrity and creativity fostered deep trust and lasting friendships with the writers and partners he worked with. He was responsible for breathing new life into nearly one hundred out-of-print books.

He and Julie wrote letters to each other constantly, trusting in the strength and depth of the written word to express wonder, love, and appreciation for each other.

James' kindness, generosity, wit, and humor will live on in his friends and family. We will miss him mightily and think of him always. His family expresses their gratitude to everyone who has extended a helping hand, words of comfort, and shared their stories of how much James meant to them.

Friends and family are welcome to attend an open house celebration of life on August 9th, between 1-5PM at their home.

To leave the family a note of condolences, please visit, www.tuftsschildmeyer.com.