Michael Delano Flynn, 73, of Maynard passed on March 26, 2025, after a long, slow struggle with a rare type of blood cancer that he took in stride without complaint, as he did with so much in his life.
The son of the late John Joseph Flynn Jr. and the late Ann Williams Flynn, he was born March 19, 1952, in Concord, the third of eight children who spent their childhood in a Central Street neighborhood filled with other large families.
Mike attended Concord schools, graduating in 1970 from Concord-Carlisle High School, where he was an enthusiastic participant in the sports programs, especially basketball. He loved playing basketball, whether in pick-up games or local amateur leagues.
Mike loved playing and following almost all sports; if there was a ball involved, he was in. Near the end of his life it was mostly golf with friends, including many from high school. Shortly before his death he watched his last Red Sox/Yankees game, just spring training, though.
He worked for much of his career at Nuclear Metals and its successor firms, where he got along well with colleagues, as he did with almost everybody.
Mike had different interests besides sports. People who got to know him were surprised how well-read he was as he talked about the latest history, biography, or other nonfiction books that he was reading. Of course, sports books were also featured in his reading lists.
In recent years he got to travel nationally and internationally with family and friends. Most recently, most of us got together at his nephew’s wedding in Amsterdam.
Mike’s children and grandchildren were most important to him. He loved exploring the outdoors with them — biking, hiking, walking, and especially their annual camping trips.
He is survived by the three children he helped raise and who called him Dad: Lori Longley and her husband Stephen of Lisbon Falls, Maine; Joseph Picorelli and his wife Jennifer; and his daughter Catherine Flynn, all of Maynard; his grandchildren Laura, Ashley, Piper, Phaydan, and Paxton; and his great-grandchildren Autumn, Reighlynn, and Laina.
He is also survived by his brothers Sean, Christopher, Peter, and Timothy Flynn; his sisters, Kathleen Flynn, Madeleine Tanguay, and Faith Regan; and many nieces and nephews.
Relatives and friends will gather for visiting hours from 8 to 11 a.m., Saturday, April 5, at Dee Funeral Home, 27 Bedford Street,with burial to follow in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. A celebration of life will immediately follow at 1:30 p.m. in The Sudbury United Methodist Church, 251 Old Sudbury Road, Sudbury. Services will conclude with a reception in the church hall.
In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to one of Mike and his mother’s favorite places, woodlandsandwaters.org.
Arrangements are entrusted to Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Concord. To share a memory or offer a condolence on Mike’s tribute page, visit DeeFuneralHome.com.
