Michael John Lynch
The Utes lost a loyal fan on September 13, 2017. A father, brother, uncle, and to so many, friend, died after a battle with liver disease.
Mike, or as all of his friends knew him, ‘Skin’, was born on April 17, 1961 to Eileen and Hugh (Bud) Lynch. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, but was a Michigan kid as he grew up in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Mike attended Lahser High School where he was a fierce competitor on the soccer field. As one of his competitors (and soon to be fraternity brothers) stated, “As much as I wanted to hate the guy, I had to respect this guy, shorter in stature than even me, who carried himself with such swagger”. A key player to Lahser’s state championship soccer team in 1978.
After graduating, he made his way from Michigan to SLC, where he graduated from the U of U in 1985. While at the U, he affiliated with the Kappa Sigma Fraternity—and made so many lifelong friends. He was a skier through and through and always had a season’s pass to Snowbird—this skier turned heads on the ski slope. His love of skiing and the camaraderie he had with his close friends kept Skin in Utah until his untimely death this past week. He had a successful career in software sales, where he accumulated performance awards year after year.
Mike married Vickie Tenney in 1991 and was married for 22 years. Although he loved his friends, they took second place after the birth of his son, Devon, in 1995. He loved his son and was so proud of the man he has become. Skin loved attending Devon’s soccer matches and spent countless days traveling with his team to watch him play. One of Mike’s greatest moments was being able to attend Devon’s marriage to Maren Sue McDaniel in May of this year.
Skin is survived by his son, Devon (Maren); brothers, Chris (Robin), Kevin (Renee) and Peter; sisters, Kathleen (Richard) and Mary Beth (Dale). Nine nieces and nephews and many, many friends. Skin also leaves behind his Kappa Sigma brothers, who are devastated by the loss of such a dear brother. He is preceded in death by his parents, and sister, Eileen.
His family and friends would like to thank the incredible team of doctors and nurses at Intermountain Medical Center, who fought like hell to keep Skinny with us. In the end, he came up with a fight that was bigger than him, but given the love those who remain have for him, it is clear who won the real fight.
Mike was a kind, gentle, generous and loving person to his family and friends and an avid UTE fan. He will be deeply missed.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, September 23rd, from 10:30 AM to 1:00 PM at The Garden Place located at This is the Place Heritage Park, 2601 East Sunnyside Avenue, SLC, UT 84108. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the local chapter of the Kappa Sigma house in his memory. Checks can be sent to Delta Sigma of Kappa Sigma, c/o Travis Vought, 1123 E. Alpine Place, SLC, UT 84105.
Arrangements entrusted to Starks Funeral Parlor. Online condolences may be offered to the family at www.starksfuneral.com
AEKDB Skin- ‘til we meet again.