Frances Lewis Lynch

Frances was born on August 2, 1924, in Draper, VA, to the late Joseph Kent Crockett and Lula Gay Howard. She was the eighth child in a family of nine. She was a member of The National Beta Club and graduated High School at sixteen. In March 1943, she began working for the Army Signal Corp in Arlington, VA to translate Japanese messages. On September 24, 1943, she married JW Lewis of Apex, NC. She became a steadfast resident of Cary in 1954 and soon approved of anything or anyone from “Old Cary”. She was a Census Taker in the Cary area for the 1960 census, and in the same year, she became a secretary for NC State Men’s Athletics. She retired in 1986. On August 12, 1989, she married retired Colonel William J. Lynch.

Initially at NC State, she was the only secretary for all of men’s athletics, but most of her work was for Everett Case in basketball and Earle Edwards in football. Over time, she worked for basketball coaches Everett Case, Press Maravich, Norman Sloan, and Jim Valvano. While there, men’s basketball won national championships in 1974 and 1983.

When coach Valvano became head coach, she informed him that she wanted to be “hired not inherited”. When asked how she felt about Coach Sloan, she replied that he could “walk on water”. The next day, flowers arrived from Coach Valvano and a card that said, “I can’t walk on water yet, but I’m treading like hell”.

She had great respect for the NC State coaches and felt a special bond with the players, managers, and staff as if they were her family. For the rest of her life, she maintained great enthusiasm and a fondness for her NC State friends and experiences.

In addition to her parents, Frances was preceded in death by:

Husbands: JW Lewis (1983) and William J. Lynch (2013).

Siblings (in age order): Lillian Hartwell, Ruth Caldwell, Robert Crockett, Minnie Alice Blackburn, Woodrow Crockett, Joe Crockett, and Sheldon Crockett – mostly from Roanoke and Pulaski, Virginia.

Frances is survived by:

Brother: Thomas Murphy Crockett of Draper, VA.

Sons: Larry and Jerry Lewis, both of Raleigh.

Daughter: Deb Lewis Rateau of Lilburn, GA.

Grandchildren: Amanda Lewis Blankenship, Randy Lewis, Gretchen Hyler Ting, Janie Hyler Gor, and Mikayla Lewis.

Seven great-grandchildren.

Numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews.

A funeral service will be held on Thursday, March 24, 2016, at 11:00 am at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home in Cary. A graveside committal will follow at Salem Baptist Church Cemetery in Apex, NC. The family will receive friends on Wednesday, March 23, 2016, from 6:00 – 8:00 pm, also at the funeral home.