Finding space to remember Terry Lynch

When Nick and Loretta Yroseva's son, Nick, entered a poster and essay writing contest last year, they had no idea this simple act would take their son to the moon and back and introduce the whole family to a cluster of bright shining stars.
In a very round-about sort of way, it all started on Sept. 11, 2001.
Terry Michael Lynch, a native of Youngstown, was at the Pentagon to attend a meeting to discuss improvements in survivor benefits for military families when American Airlines Flight 77 struck the building.
"Terry died as he always lived his life, helping others," according to information from the Terry Lynch Foundation.
Terry's wife, Jackie, started the foundation after his death. The focus of the foundation is to help children with juvenile rheumatological diseases. The Lynches' youngest daughter, Ashley, suffers from juvenile arthritis.
Two-fold purposedrives the foundation
The Lynch family lived in Washington, D.C., at the time of the attack. Terry worked for several presidential commissions and in military and foreign affairs for the U.S. Senate. Through his position, he and Jackie began a national movement for more research and awareness regarding juvenile rheumatological diseases. With the creation of the Terry Lynch Foundation, Jackie hopes to keep her husband's memory alive while helping others who, like her daughter, struggle with juvenile arthritis.
While the foundation has been busy raising funds, Jackie, who has moved back to the Youngstown area, and her college-age daughters, Tiffany and Ashley, came up with another way to proliferate the memory of this special man.
"They decided to send kids to space camp in the memory of their father," Loretta said, explaining how her family became involved with the Lynches.
"Terry helped build the space camp," Jackie Lynch explains. "Tiffany and Ashley chose to honor Terry this way."
His daughters createdthe Space Camp Contest
The Lynch daughters created the Space Camp Contest. Any pupil in sixth through 12th grades in the Mahoning Valley area wishing to enter had to write an essay or draw a poster about "The First Colony on Mars."
"Nick was so enthused to enter it," Loretta recalls. An eighth-grader at St. Joseph's in Austintown, Nick drew a poster with great detail about his imagined colony and included an explanation written on a computer screen he had drawn. When the Yrosevas learned Nick was one of nine winners in the competition, they were thrilled. The package included air fare and a weeklong stay at space camp, located at the Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
"I am so thankful to Jackie and her daughters," Loretta said, her voice choking up with emotion. "Space camp isn't something we had ever even thought of." She adds, even if they had considered the camp, the cost would have been prohibitive.
"It really impacted him," Loretta says of Nick's experience at camp. "And it probably will for the rest of his life."
"Nick is kind of a quiet kid, but when he came home from camp, he didn't stop talking," Loretta says, laughing.
Helping the familyand sick children
At a recent Terry Lynch Foundation dinner dance and auction, Nick and Loretta decided to give back to the family that had given them so much -- and at the same time help children with juvenile arthritis.
"It was the last item of the live auction," Loretta said.
The item included a space suit signed by astronaut Capt. Alan Bean, and a week at space camp.
Mark Yroseva, Nick's younger brother, was pleading with his mother to bid on the prize. Meanwhile, Nick Sr. was raising his hand. He won the bid.
"I was speechless," Mark says.
Nick is excited that his brother will experience the wonders of space camp.
Mark is counting the days until he will "visit" the moon.
Meanwhile, the Lynch family is preparing for this year's space camp poster and essay contest.
From small children suffering with arthritis to those exploring space, truly, Terry Lynch will never be forgotten.
gwhite@vindy.com
XFor more information about this year's Space Camp Contest, call (330) 757-4075.