Carole Virginia Oates Lynch

Carole Virginia Oates Lynch arrived in glory at her eternal home Dec. 16. After a brief yet courageous bout with ALS, she passed peacefully and painlessly surrounded by the love of her children, grandchildren, and husband of over fifty-six years, Larry Lynch.

Funeral services will be held at First Baptist Church Tullahoma on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 11 a.m. Visitation will be Friday, Dec. 20 from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. at Kilgore Funeral Home.

Carole was born in West Lafayette, Ind., while her father finished his graduate studies at Purdue University. Over the next several years Carole, her mother Mary and father Sherman, as well as baby sister Janey, moved frequently around the country; a young family searching for home in an evolving postwar America. It was during this time young Carole developed the lifelong practice of reading. Her frequent changes in scenery prompted an intense desire to process the world through information. Carole didn’t just want to learn – she wanted to reach out and see the world through the lives of others. This would prove to be a lifelong endeavor. After settling in Corinth, Mississippi near their mothers’ people, Carole and Janey embarked on a wonderful childhood. Mary and Sherman cherished their daughters, raising them unto the Lord with strength and love. As Carole became a teenager, life started to speed up. “She was larger than life,” Janey says. “She was a beauty queen, wrote the school play and had a beautiful singing voice. It was an honor to follow in her footsteps.”

After graduating from Corinth High School, Carole left for college in 1964. Like her younger years, she attended a few schools before graduating from Ole Miss in 1968 with a B.A. in Education. But it was during the previous Christmas break when an old acquaintance from her freshman year mysteriously arrived at her doorstep. The young man was Larry Lynch, a freshman year classmate from nearby Memphis. After a brief courtship, Carole and Larry were married May 31, 1968 at First Baptist Church of Corinth. And like their parents’ generation – the world was getting ready to change again. She taught school in Mandeville, Louisiana and Memphis. It was here Carole had her first child, Mary Melissa. After moving to nearby Somerville where Larry was a guidance counselor at a local high school and later at a state correctional school, Carole gave birth in 1973 to her second daughter, Lauren Virginia. Wanting to settle down, Carole and Larry moved to what would be their lasting home of Tullahoma in 1974. They lived in the Tullahoma community for fifty years, becoming pillars of kindness and charity to many generations. Carole continued to pour into her community through education. She worked at Highland Rim School, Motlow College, St. Paul Catholic School and Robert E. Lee Elementary where she retired after many years. Carole was loved by many students in Tullahoma for her attention to the details of their lives.

She demonstrated this as well as her love of music and her faith by leading the youth choir at First Christian Church for many years. When not teaching, she raised her two daughters Melissa and Virginia into the smart, spirited, and inspiring women they are today. In her later years, Carole and Larry mentored hundreds of their peers at First Baptist Church Tullahoma, where they attended for over thirty years and taught Sunday school. Carole, ever eager to learn and help others, for many years led an English as a Second Language (ESL) group for dozens of women. Her ceaseless compassion and empathy for these women came from a personal place in Carole. She knew what it was like to move to a strange land and feel out of place. She was never content to let herself or others feel unwelcome for long. As well as serving in these roles, Carole’s other full-time passion was in her role as Nana to her 5 grandchildren. Her love, devotion and joyful participation in their lives was characterized by countless hours with them as they visited Tullahoma frequently and as she and Larry visited them in their towns as well as their anticipated yearly summer beach trip. Carole pursued a relationship with each of them, keeping up with every detail of their lives from birth to current happenings up until the day of her death.

Carole is survived by her husband of fifty-six years, Larry Lynch; her sister Janey Lamphron (Jim); daughters Melissa Lewis (Ken) and Virginia Tilleros (Steve); and five grandchildren; Abi Boeger (Reed), Simon Lewis (Caroline), Samuel Tilleros (Holly), Lucas Tilleros (Kelsey), and Thomas Tilleros. Besides her immediate family, Carole leaves behind countless friends, students, and spiritual sisters from a lifetime of friendship and mentorship. Carole was preceded in death by her parents Mary and Sherman Oates. In lieu of flowers, donations may be given to: Kenya Care Partners 103 St. Andrews Place Tullahoma, TN, First Baptist Church Tullahoma, or the ALS Foundation.

Kilgore Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.

Tullahoma News – Dec. 18, 2024