Fondly referred to as “Grandpa” by the WFDA board, Gerry Lynch has played a crucial role in making the Wisconsin Funeral Directors Association what it is today. As a former board member of 15 years, Gerry is still a huge advocate of supporting members through education opportunities, fostering young members of the funeral service industry, and getting more members involved in the association even after they retire.   

Gerry has had a varied career, as he worked for General Motors, a PVC pipe manufacturing company, and owned a restaurant before he decided to get into the funeral services industry. A career as a funeral director was always in the back of his mind, and in 1995 he received his license from MATC-West Allis. Around this time, he partnered with Jim Whitcomb to run the Whitcomb-Lynch Funeral Home in Janesville, WI until he retired in 2020.

Gerry has also played a major role in creating the Leadership Development Foundation, which was established in 2021. He realized the association needed a way to allow members to contribute and support WFDA with education. Gerry strongly believes in developing from within the industry in order to retain and grow the WFDA member base. He finds the WFDA so valuable due to support from peers and education opportunities, and the Foundation is a way to increase accessibility of these experiences for its members. Looking forward, Gerry hopes to see more involvement from retirees to continue to provide their knowledge and experience to the younger funeral directors. 

Community involvement has always been important to Gerry, as he has also been a member and volunteer at his local Elks Club for about 40 years and served on the MATC Funeral Service Program Advisory Board for about 18 years. Now happily retired, Gerry spends much of his time traveling.