April 11, 1946 – June 29, 2017
Laima Ann Flynn, Beloved Grandmother, Mother, Wife and Friend died peacefully at her Jacksonville, OR home on June 29, 2017 at the age of 71. During her final weeks, her family, by her side, lovingly attended to her during her time of transition until her passing.
“Laima” in her native Lithuanian means “Good Fortune.” Those who were blessed to have known her understand how true her Spirit is to her name. With indomitable zeal, she could turn the darkest hour into a moment housed in Hope. One of her favorite sayings, and she had many, was: “Where there is a will, there is a way.”
Born in 1946 to Julia and Mecislovas Tubieze, Laima was the first of the “Baby Boomer” generation, a child of the 50’s, coming to age in the 60’s. Conceived at the end of World War II, she navigated her first years in a German displacement camp. In 1949, with the immigration process completed, Laima, alongside her mother, father, and older brother, Algimantas embarked on their journey to America—the land of promise, freedom and new beginnings. She grew up in Brockton, MA, and welcomed her baby brother, Johnny, born in 1958. When she was 14 years old, her father passed away, and in 1969 her brother, Johnny, age 11, died of Leukemia.
During high school, devoted to her Catholic faith and upbringing, she continued to excel academically, and captained the Glee Club. She graduated from Emmanuel College in Boston with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology. Following graduation, she married Michael J. Flynn, started a family and taught at an elementary school in Roxbury, MA. As her family grew, she transitioned into paralegal work to support her husband who had opened his own practice as a civil litigator in Boston.
Elegant to her core, with a wit wise to her company, and a vibration, compassionate and transcendent, Laima was a complex, beautiful woman. She uplifted the lives of so many with her mile-wide smile and ten-second hugs. Present and mindful, she would listen without judgement. Her volunteerism, and quiet charity, was grounded in the awareness that the meek and the mighty are intimately connected, “for, by the Grace of God Go I.” A natural teacher, she inspired her grandchildren’s imaginations. A gifted interior decorator and real-estate investor, she was both an artist and astute business woman. And, possessing a robust intellect, she delighted in history, politics and meta-physics. At her morning tea, The New Yorker, her favorite pen and a notepad set her place.
Laima was a spiritual warrior. She fought severe Rheumatoid Arthritis for 40 years, inventing delicate tools out of everyday items to assure her independence. She chartered childhood trauma with the deaths of her father and brother, but met each day with gratitude…determined to climb the mountain that God put before her with Grace. She anchored her life with a daily commitment to her family and Faith. She was an incomparable survivor from birth to death; against all odds. An Iron Maiden and a Hug Fairy.
She is survived by Michael J. Flynn Sr.; her children: Michael Flynn, Rebecca Flynn-Williams and Alison Flynn; and her grandchildren: Aiden Williams, Freddy Williams, Emerson Flynn and Abigail Flynn…who, with hearts embroidered with her affirmations, will always hear her Spirit gently remind: “Love is Our Soul Purpose. Love IS…”
We love you Laima. You ARE Hope. You ARE Love, Everlasting.
Memorial donations in her name can be sent to: Trinity Church in Boston, MA, The Covenant House, Yellow Brick Road, SPCA, and St. Jude.