Margaret was born in Poultney, VT, on December 5, 1923, the second of three children of William and Mary (Dooling) Lynch. She graduated from Poultney High School in 1941 and commuted to nearby Castleton State Teachers College where she earned her degree in 1944. After teaching second grade in Poultney for six years, Margaret moved to Long Island, NY, to teach in the rapidly growing New York City suburbs.
On a blind date in January 1953 she met the love of her life John C. Kohn, a salesman for Mars Candy Company. They were married on July 3, 1954 in Saint Raphael Catholic Church in Poultney. After their wedding, Margaret became a full time homemaker and eventually mother of five children. John’s career at Mars had them transferred to Fargo, ND, and finally to Kansas City, MO, in 1960.
Margaret had an understated but very deep Catholic faith which was demonstrated by the way she, with John, raised their family. Their third child, Alice, was profoundly limited physically and developmentally by Down Syndrome. Nonetheless, Alice was figuratively and literally the center of the Kohn household. Margaret showed constant and unwavering love and care to Alice on a daily basis until Alice died at the age of thirty three. Her remarkable example had an unforgettable impact on her other four children. As a mother and a person, Margaret was kind, fair, and always put a positive spin on life. She was extremely attentive to all her children and a fierce advocate for them in achieving higher education and career goals.
Margaret was a charter member of Saint Thomas More Catholic Church where she taught in the school of religion and was a member of More Friends senior citizen group.
Margaret was preceded in death by her parents, her daughter Alice in 1993, and her sister Mary Mazur in 2017. She is survived by her husband John, son Dr. Jack (Barbara) Kohn of Fenton, MI, daughters Juliann (Richard) Bernard of Overland Park, KS, Donna (Jaime) Campoverde of Healdsburg, CA, and Ann (James) Greene of Kansas City, MO, as well as eleven grandchildren and one great grandson. She is also survived by her brother Dr. Michael J. Lynch of Granville, NY.
The family would like to thank the staff at Kingswood Memory Care for their kindness and concern over the past two years.
If desired, donations in her memory may be made to the Down Syndrome Guild of Kansas City: https://www.kcdsg.org/
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