by Frank Schroth

Early Monday afternoon, I received a text message: “We lost Chris.”

The day before that I was huffing and puffing my way up Milton Hill along with many others in a collective show of support for Chris Lynch and his family. The community’s collective love, good will and support for Chris and his family was heartwarming. Today is heartbreaking.

I met Chris on a soccer field when he was just a small boy. I was his coach and he was one of my players. Neither of us knew soccer very well, but we had fun doing it together with Josh and Steve and Dan and all the others. And of course there was all the ferrying around, picking kids up and dropping them off. That’s what young parents do. And as you age, as I have, you watch and keep tabs on these kids. It is a big part of life in a small town. But nothing really prepares you for some things, certainly not the news that one your son’s childhood friends passed away at the age of 25 from leukemia.

“This is not supposed to happen,” one friend said. But cancer has no rhyme and it has no reason. It is ignorant of age and does not know that this boy was just a sweet kid with his life in front of him, that he is one of three boys, all good boys, that his family wanted for him what all families want for their children – long life and happiness. It plows on leaving a wake of grief, anger, and pain.

This is not supposed to happen, but unexplainably it did and it is indescribably sad.

Our common heart has been broken. Chris was a wonderful boy, and we express our sincere condolences to the Lynch family on this terrible loss.

The family has posted a remembrance of Chris which you can find here and to which you can add your thoughts.

Information regarding memorial services will be posted when available.