Pamela Loraine Sumner Lynch

It is with deep sorrow and much love that we mourn the passing of our mother, sister, grandmother, aunt, and friend, Pamela Loraine Sumner Lynch, on Monday, March 17, 2025 at the age of 76.

Born to Edna (née Juckes) and Dr. Robert Sumner on January 4, 1949 in Boston, Massachusetts, Pam spent her formative years as the eldest of three children in Los Angeles, California. Always a California girl at heart, she moved to the Midwest in 1967 to attend Stephens College and the University of Missouri, earning degrees in fashion design and psychology.  She married in 1972 and eventually put down roots and devotedly raised her two children in Springfield, Illinois, the Land of Lincoln, which always thrilled her as a history buff. Upon retiring from the State of Illinois after many years of service, she moved farther east to South Carolina to be nearer her children and grandchildren. 

Pam was a beautifully complex person who spent her life making those she loved feel loved. She enjoyed reading mysteries, taking up hands-on hobbies – from antiquing and stained glass to furniture refinishing and masonry – watching classic movies, and attending her grandkids’ many events. She was a fashionably-late and fashionably-dressed, steak-and-potatoes kind of person who kept everyone in her life up to speed on everyone else’s goings-on. She enjoyed driving – on the coast of California, the open roads of Illinois, or puttering around Columbia, SC with her dog, Gracie – always on her quest to find her perfect vehicle. In her adult life, she always had a dog companion or two. She inherited a suboptimal sense of hearing but relished being a part of the conversation. She was always cold but wore sandals whenever possible. She knew exactly what she liked and had a great, subtle sense of humor. She left us too soon and too quickly, and we will miss her immensely.

Pam was preceded in death by her parents, Edna and Robert, and her nephew, Jonathan Nuño. She leaves behind her children, Patrick Lynch, and Meghan Lynch (Jonathan White); her siblings, Michael Sumner and Kathleen Nuño; her grandchildren, Louisa White and Callum White; her nephews, Michael Lynch, Zachary Nuño, and Nicholas Nuño; and her many extended family and friends. 

An event celebrating Pam’s life will take place later this year.