CONWAY – Lynmore Sykes Gay was born on May 30, 1936 at the family home on Bynum Road in Seaboard, North Carolina and passed away at Vidant Medical Center in Greenville on Friday, February 27, 2015 after a two year battle with leukemia.  Lynmore was preceded in death by his parents, DeWitt Clinton & Maggie Rose Sykes Gay; and his older brother, Merrell Gay.

Lynmore graduated from SeaboardHigh School in 1954 where he was an avid basketball and baseball player.  He attended East Carolina College on a baseball scholarship as a pitcher, playing baseball and basketball, and was a member of the ROTC drill team. While in Greenville, Lynmore also played baseball for the semi-pro team Greenville Greenies as pitcher.

Since 1959, Lynmore lived in Conway with his wife, Shirley Martin Gay, where he worked for National Polychemicals, which became Georgia-Pacific Chemicals, for 35 years until his retirement in 1996 as Regional Process Improvement Manager. Lynmore grew up on the family farm working with the cows and the crops. He returned to farming on a part-time basis in 1980 on the “Big D” family farm, until his farming retirement in 2014.

Lynmore served in the church as a Sunday School teacher for numerous years, sang bass in the church choir, was leader of the Methodist Youth Fellowship, and served in many other leadership roles, including a member of the Board of Trustees and Chairman of the Administrative Board. Lynmore & Shirley were named Laypersons of the Year of Conway United Methodist Church in 2002.

Lynmore served his community in many capacities, including leader of the Conway Cloverettes 4-H Club.  He served on the Northampton County Board of Education for 29 years, and was Chairman for many of those years. He also served as a commissioner on the Conway Town Board for several years. Lynmore, along with his wife Shirley, was a Charter Member of the Conway-Severn Volunteer Rescue Squad. Lynmore was a member of the Conway Volunteer Fire Department until his retirement. He also served his community as a member of the Conway Ruritan Club from 1961 until his death. During this time he chaired numerous community service committees, and held several elected officer roles at the local and district levels. In 1973, Lynmore & Shirley were named the Family of the Year by the Conway Ruritan Club. In January, 2015, Lynmore was honored by the Conway Ruritan Club for his many years of dedicated service.

Lynmore loved sports, particularly those that he had played – tennis, baseball, basketball, fishing, golf, and water & snow skiing.  He loved working with youth in the areas of baseball and basketball, focusing on teaching them the fundamentals of those sports.

Lynmore was a man of honor and integrity, and often stated “God put you here to make this a better place before you leave it.”  He loved God, country, and community, but everyone also knew that Lynmore cherished his family.

Left to cherish his memory are his wife of 58 years, Shirley Martin Gay; his three children, Darlene (Fred) Draper of Roanoke Rapids, Roslyn Gay of Conway, and Jason (Candace) Gay of Murfreesboro; his five grandchildren – Clint & Caroline Gay of Murfreesboro, Erin L (Joe) D’Arco of Jackson, Dionna (Tom) Manning of Winterville, and Jeremy (Jill) Draper of Charlotte; and his seven great-grandchildren – Reagan & Michael D’Arco, McKaleigh & Camden Manning, and Kennedy, Tatum, & Finley Draper.  He also leaves behind two sisters – Joann (Henry) Ricks of Roanoke Rapids, and Sue (Bobby) Gay of Raleigh; and a sister-in-law, Raye Gay of Conway. He also leaves several special nieces and nephews – Larry Garriss and Todd (Megan) Garriss; Diane Garriss; Craig (Karen) Garriss and Shelley, Holly, & Samantha Garriss; Nonie (Jim) Shuler; Marianna (Randall) Burnett and Lindsey & Noah; Bob (Vickie) Gay and Bodie; and Nick (Amanda) Gay and Ava; a special “brother”, Harold Curling, of Roanoke Rapids, and a special “daughter”, Dale Benton, of Beaufort.

The family will receive friends on Thursday, March 5, 2015 from 7:00 – 8:30 pm at Bridgers Funeral Home (West Main Street – Conway) and other times at the home.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, March 6, 2015 at 11:00 am at Conway United Methodist Church (South Church Street – Conway) with the Rev. Robert Hill presiding.  Flowers are welcome or memorial contributions may be made to Conway Ruritan Club, c/o Jentry White, PO Box 897, Jackson, NC 27845 or to a favorite charity.

Online condolences can be shared with the family at www.bridgersfuneralhome.com.