Obituary for Cynthia M Lyman (Macfarlane)
Cynthia Jean Macfarlane Lyman passed away on April 11, 2020, at the Elaine Center in Hadley, Mass. She was born on September 10, 1935, the daughter of Edward and Isabel Macfarlane. She had two brothers, Douglas Macfarlane and the late Donald Macfarlane, and a sister, the late Charlene Armstrong. She grew up in Dedham and Needham, Mass., attended Westbrook College, and later moved to Hartford. There, at Travelers Insurance, she met the love of her life, Dexter Lyman. They married, moved to Norwich, later moved to Franklin, and then finally moved to Enfield. She had three children, James, John, and Elizabeth.
As a child, she was shy, and she stuttered. Over time, as as she gained confidence, she blossomed, becoming the very life of the party. She knew everyone and she was funny. Which helped her in her career as a bank teller. And for over fifty years, she and her neighbors, Tootie Desroaches, Mary Ivanisin, Shirley Pappas, Toni Kweder, and Laurie Flower, met once a month for Pot Luck Club.
She loved her Scottish heritage, antiquing, gardening, classical music, cross-stitching, our friends the Zagrubskis of Buckland, Mass., and the Connecticut Huskies women’s basketball team. She loved her cats and dogs, surely none more so than her final cat, Blossom, sometimes known as Kitty.
She was afraid of flying, but ignored it, and flew everywhere. Rome, Paris, London many times, California. Because of her bravery, she saw some of the great locations of the world and some of the great works of art. But she and her sister also had a terrifyingly close call on 9/11.
Aside from her parents, siblings, late husband, children, and friends, she loved so many others. She loved her granddaughter Jessica, Jessica’s husband Mark, and her great-grandsons Joshua and Justin; her son John’s partner Richard McClure; and her daughter’s husband Ed Dezabala and her granddaughter Hannah.
We are grateful for the excellent care our mother received at Armbrook Village in Westfield, Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, and finally at the Elaine Center in Hadley. We are also so grateful to Bill and Carol Berthold, of Enfield, who saved us when times were tough.
Cynthia Lyman was a real Oregon Trail woman and a wonderful, wonderful mother. Her children will think of her and miss her every day for the rest of our lives.
As a child, she was shy, and she stuttered. Over time, as as she gained confidence, she blossomed, becoming the very life of the party. She knew everyone and she was funny. Which helped her in her career as a bank teller. And for over fifty years, she and her neighbors, Tootie Desroaches, Mary Ivanisin, Shirley Pappas, Toni Kweder, and Laurie Flower, met once a month for Pot Luck Club.
She loved her Scottish heritage, antiquing, gardening, classical music, cross-stitching, our friends the Zagrubskis of Buckland, Mass., and the Connecticut Huskies women’s basketball team. She loved her cats and dogs, surely none more so than her final cat, Blossom, sometimes known as Kitty.
She was afraid of flying, but ignored it, and flew everywhere. Rome, Paris, London many times, California. Because of her bravery, she saw some of the great locations of the world and some of the great works of art. But she and her sister also had a terrifyingly close call on 9/11.
Aside from her parents, siblings, late husband, children, and friends, she loved so many others. She loved her granddaughter Jessica, Jessica’s husband Mark, and her great-grandsons Joshua and Justin; her son John’s partner Richard McClure; and her daughter’s husband Ed Dezabala and her granddaughter Hannah.
We are grateful for the excellent care our mother received at Armbrook Village in Westfield, Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, and finally at the Elaine Center in Hadley. We are also so grateful to Bill and Carol Berthold, of Enfield, who saved us when times were tough.
Cynthia Lyman was a real Oregon Trail woman and a wonderful, wonderful mother. Her children will think of her and miss her every day for the rest of our lives.