Centennial School Director Jane Lynch Dies

WARMINSTER TOWNSHIP, PA — Longtime Centennial School Board Director Jane Schrader Lynch — a champion of children and the community for decades — has died at the age of 88.

Centennial School Board President Patti Crossan announced Lynch's passing in a Facebook post over the weekend.

The Centennial School District said that Lynch died on Saturday.

"Ms. Lynch always placed students and the community at the forefront of her work," the school district said in a statement. "We are deeply grateful for her many years of dedicated service and her unwavering commitment to education. She will be greatly missed. We extend our heartfelt condolences to her family, friends, and all those whose lives she touched."

Lynch was recently sworn in by Warminster District Justice Christopher O'Neill for the school board's December reorganization. The Republican was re-elected running on the Democratic ticket in the November general election.

Lynch's passing prompted an outpouring from school and community officials.

Crossan posted a photo collage of Lynch on Saturday, along with a slogan from Winnie The Pooh: “How lucky I am to have known someone that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

"I am deeply saddened by the passing of Jane Schrader Lynch, and I offer her loving family my sincere condolences in this difficult time," School Director Tony Sadowski said. "Having gotten to know and work with Jane as part of the Centennial School Board was an honor. I can't imagine these past few years without Jane's expertise, her feisty spirit, her kindness, and her leadership."

The Warminster Republican Committee said that Lynch was a trailblazer for women in public service.

Lynch was the first woman elected to the Warminster Township Board of Supervisors and later the first woman to serve as chairwoman of the governing board.

Her commitment to civic life extended across countless organizations, including the Park & Recreation Board, Zoning Hearing Board, Library Board, Bucks County Area Agency on Aging, and as the township’s representative to the Wilson Senior Center. She was also a founding member and board member of the Warminster Soccer Club.

"Warminster has known few — if any — individuals more deeply dedicated to the betterment of our community," the committee said in tribute to Lynch. "Jane’s legacy of service, leadership, and devotion to our community will be felt for generations."

Lynch served on the Centennial School Board for 18 years as a school director and a school board president.

During her tenure, she chaired the Education Committee and the Ad Hoc Land Use Committee, and also served on the Operations, Finance, and Labor Relations committees.

A resident of the area for over 60 years, Lynch’s roots in Warminster ran deep. She was married for 65 years to her beloved husband, Jim, with whom she raised three sons. She was also a proud grandmother to six grandchildren and a great-grandmother to one great-granddaughter.

"It was an honor to meet, get to know, and serve with her," former Schools Superintendent Dana T. Bedden said. "Our relationship was built on truth and honesty, trying to do the right thing."

"I have known Jane for many years and greatly respected her and her accomplishments," School Director Charley Martin said. "She was a great role model for young ladies. Jane always spoke her mind and was feisty to the end. She was an excellent school board member who left as a winner. She will be missed."

"Knowing Jane and her wit, her fierce determination, and her 'say it like it is' has been an honor to watch, and hoping that we can continue in her ways to make the Centennial School District as operationally strong and financially viable as can be," new School Director Karen Krieger said. "Jane will be sorely missed; hoping she is at peace and in no more pain. Fly Angel, Fly!!!"

Sadowski said that Lynch led "out of conviction and compassion, not contempt and control."

"She wasn't there for partisan reasons, an old-school asset at a time when even local seats feel sadly politicized," Sadowski said. "Jane was very generous with the insights she'd gained over the years, and I'll carry them with me in my public service. To know Jane was to know exactly what she was thinking. She was honest, sharp, direct, tough as nails, and very funny. All that is to say, I respected Jane a great deal. Our board table is impoverished without her presence, but we are all richer for having been given so much of her time and energy. Jane is, and will be, missed. Rest well, my friend."