By Joan F. Simoneau, Community Reporter
Marlborough – Marlborough resident Paulina Lynch enjoys every day to the fullest by keeping busy with volunteer work and healthy and fun activities.
“It’s all about sociability and keeping a positive attitude,” said Lynch, 86. “Negativity can be contagious so I try to avoid anyone who talks and acts that way.”
Her weekly priorities include attending four exercise classes at the Marlborough Senior Center – floor yoga, chair yoga, strength and balance, and Tai Chi. She also enjoys a weekly class in water aerobics at the Wayside Swim and Racquet Club.
“I look forward to all the exercises. I know they are healthy, they feel good and I enjoy talking with friends I have there,” said the energetic senior.
She is an early riser, reads a daily newspaper to keep informed of local, state and national happenings and attends the 7 a.m. Mass each day at Immaculate Conception church.
Lynch was one of the first residents to participate in the local Senior Citizen Residential Property Tax Work-off Program (SCRPT) offered in 2012, a state program that allows seniors over the age of 60 to perform volunteer services for the city in exchange for a reduction on their property tax for up to $1,000 a year. She is a greeter at City Hall and assists Mayor Arthur Vigeant’s Administrative Assistant Patricia Bernard occasionally. She continues to serve there throughout the year, another activity she thoroughly enjoys.
The joy of her life are her two grandchildren – Jack and Danielle, children of her son, Sean, and his wife, Susan who live in Shrewsbury. She enjoys sharing holidays with them and going to their sports activities to cheer them on. She also has a son, Jay, who lives locally; daughter, Rosemary and husband, Jack who live in Lancaster; and daughter, Pia, who lives in Virginia Beach with her husband, Jeff.
She was married to the late Attorney Donald Lynch, a member of the Haddad, Lynch, and Brennan law office. Shortly after her husband’s passing, the area off Route 495 leading to the Solomon Pond Mall was named the Donald J. Lynch Boulevard.
“We were so pleased and proud,” Lynch said. “It was quite an honor.”
Lynch was a real estate agent for more than 35 years and a notary for over 50 years, a service she still provides, and is a poll worker during city elections. She is also a member of the Evening of Giving Committee, which is an annual benefit that raises funds to benefit Roland’s House, a local homeless shelter.
