Our History

Lynch & Sons Funeral Directors, one of the largest family owned and operated funeral firms in the country, traces its origins to the licensure, in 1948, of Edward J. Lynch, Jr. (1924-1992). It was his belief that the most valuable asset of any funeral service firm was the trust and confidence of the community it served.
 
In the 1970's his sons, Thomas, Patrick and Timothy Lynch and a son-in-law, Michael Howell, joined him in forming Lynch & Sons Funeral Directors. To the funeral homes they operated in Clawson, Milford and Walled Lake in the 1970’s they have added facilities in Plymouth, Oxford, Lapeer and Brighton, bringing to seven the number of family owned and operated facilities.


Meanwhile, a third generation of licensees has joined the various operations: Tim Lynch, Jr. in Walled Lake, Michael Lynch in Brighton & Milford, Katie Lynch Capstick in Lapeer, Kevin Lynch in Oxford, Julie Howell Romein in Plymouth and Paddy Lynch in Clawson. In addition to licensed members of the firm, Mary Lynch Howell is the bookkeeper for the Clawson and Milford locations, Julie Lynch Kenrick is office manager in Clawson, Brigid Lynch is a licensed counselor who handles bereavement services in Clawson and Milford.

In 2007, PBS Frontline broadcast The Undertaking- a documentary film based on the book by the same name, written by Thomas Lynch. Filmed at our locations in Milford and Clawson and directed by Karen O'Connor and Miri Navasky, this film focuses on the realities of dying, death and bereavement and the place of the funeral and the funeral director in the continuum of care to families in grief. The Undertaking was broadcast nationally on all Public Television stations in October, 2007, and is used now as a teaching tool in seminaries, universities, medical and mortuary programs across the country. In September of 2008 it won the Emmy Award for Best Documentary in Arts & Culture.


Like his father, who served as President of the Michigan Funeral Directors Association in the late 1970's, Patrick Lynch was president of MFDA in 2003 and 2004. He was the founding chair of the Consumer Protection Committee and under his leadership, the association was successful in seeing landmark preneed funding legislation signed into law by Governor Granholm. Pat served as President of the National Funeral Directors Association in 2010/2011, the largest association of funeral directors in the world, where his leadership helped to shape the future of funeral service. As a family we are committed to the communities we serve and to maintaining the reputation our father established for excellence and honesty in meeting the needs of the bereaved. Now in seven locations, in four counties and our third generation, after more than sixty years, we are locally known and nationally recognized for compassionate care of the living and the dead as we continue to uphold "A Family Tradition of Dignified Service."