Mary Joan/“Mary Jo”/Joey (nee Euper) Lynch, longtime Madison resident, passed away on May 28, 2025, at Agrace Hospice in Fitchburg, Wisconsin. Mary Jo is survived by her five children: Karen (Michael) Gardner; Cindy (Keith Ziegler) Lynch; Jane Lewis; Julie Lynch; and Kevin (Diane Smith) Lynch. She was also blessed with twelve grandchildren and ten great grandchildren.
Born April 26,1935 to Peter and Lillian Euper, of Watertown, Wisconsin, where they owned and operated the Badger Bottling Company. Mary Jo was preceded in death by her parents, and her three older siblings: Betty Leichtle; Peter “Bud” Euper; and Gert Lawton; and granddaughter Bailey Lewis.
Mary Jo graduated from Watertown High School in 1953, and the St. Mary’s School of Nursing in 1956. She married Thomas Lynch in 1957, and raised the family in Madison. She worked as a nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital for 43 years, assisting on many different floors.
In addition to working full-time and raising a family, she was very socially active, participating in golf leagues, bowling leagues, and card playing with family and friends. She was an avid fan of the Packers, Brewers, and Badgers, as well as a loyal supporter of her kids’ and grandkids’ sports teams, often traveling many hours to a game. A member of Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Parish and a solid community citizen, she volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House, BSP Free Clinic, St. Mary’s Gift Shop, Meals for St. Luke’s, and Queen of Peace funeral meals.
A visitation and celebration of life will be held on Monday June 23 from 4:00pm to 7:00pm at Cress Funeral Home at 6021 University Avenue. A visitation will be held on Tuesday June 24 at 10:00am at Our Lady Queen of Peace, followed by a Mass, which will begin at 11:00am.
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested memorial donations be made to the Catholic Multi-Cultural Center, Our Lady Queen of Peace, or Agrace Hospice. Our family would like to thank the staffs at All Saints Senior Apartments and Assisted Living, Four Winds Lodge, and Agrace where Mary Jo always felt much love and respect.
Please share your memories of Mary Jo by posting in her guestbook.
Cress Center
6021 University Ave. Madison
(608) 238-8406
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