Roberta "Bobbi" Flynn Obituary

Roberta Flynn, 92, of Newburyport passed away on Monday, July 7th, after a sudden illness. Known as Bobbi to friends and family, she was the daughter of the late Dr. William A. Flynn and Rosemary Carr Flynn of Amesbury, where she spent her early years. She was educated at St. Joseph school, Amesbury High School, Jeanne D’Arc Academy in Milton, and Regis College in Weston. She had a special relationship with her sisters Rosemary and Joan, and their husbands, George and Charles Cashman. She was like a second mother to her many nieces and nephews whom she adored, and who adored her in return.

She spent her early professional career working at the Boston Gas Company, and Studio 350, also in Boston, where she helped organize photography for printed advertising. She often used nieces and nephews as subjects in these photos, which were published in many local newspapers and magazines. She had a brief but enriching job working as a nanny to the great-grandchildren of the famous newspaper magnate Joseph Pulitzer, and travelled to Europe with the Pulitzer family.

She spent the majority of her career as an elementary school teacher, primarily at the Bagnall School in Groveland, where she taught fifth and sixth grade for 30 years. She took great pride in helping to shape the lives of many school children, and delighted when she would meet them again later in life as adults.

Mid-career, she went back to school, first getting an MA in History, and then an MA in Counseling. She put the latter degree to good use, working on a suicide prevention hotline for several years, and also acting as a sponsor and sounding board for many men and women struggling with addiction.

She had a long relationship with the Catholic Church, and was a lector, eucharistic minister, and member of various church organizations. She spent countless weekends enriching her faith at remote retreats, and also studied the works of Catholic writers like Thomas Merton and Thomas Keating. Her faith in the saving power of the Eucharist was complete.

She was kind, generous, curious, and a delight to be around. Hers was a life well-lived, and she will be missed by many.

A Funeral Mass will be held on Tuesday, July 15th, at 10:30 AM at St. Joseph Church in Amesbury, followed by burial near her parents at St Joseph Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations in Bobbi’s name may be made to the Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center at 2 Harris Street in Newburyport, MA 01950. Arrangements were by Paul C. Rogers Family Funeral Home, 2 Hillside Avenue, Amesbury, MA 01913.