Barbara K. Flynn

WEST CARTHAGE – Barbara Kay (Bingle) Flynn, 63, Stone St., passed away peacefully in the presence of her sister Beth Snider at Samaritan Medical Center on December 4th after a courageous battle with colon cancer. In her final days, she was surrounded by family and friends.

Barbara was born at the family home on Madison St. in West Carthage on January 1, 1960, to Harry and Geniveve Bingle. She attended the West Carthage Elementary School next to her house, where two of her sisters taught. She graduated from Carthage Central High School with the Class of 1978 and subsequently attended Onondaga Community College and Jefferson Community College.  She married Alan L. Flynn, on August 31st, 1985, at the First Baptist Church in Carthage. Barbara and Alan had two children, daughter Bethany born in 1986, and son Adam born in 1990.

Barbara lived to fill the world with music. She could play a wide range of instruments, but she was most well-known for her talents with the flute and piano. She taught both at North Country Music and played with the Northern Choral Society, JCC Orchestra, First Baptist Church, Emmanuel Congregational Church, and the band Soul Force, as well as many other local groups. She also played for weddings, funerals, parties, and simply for the pleasure of friends. She was also a talented vocalist and the director of the children’s choir and adult choir at First Baptist Church and Emmanuel Congregational Church.

She loved to create beauty through writing and art. She was a short story writer and photographer at Carthage Tribune. She painted, drew, and sketched. She was a master of crafts, from cardboard dollhouses to beautifully painted rocks. She wrote poetry which she also illustrated. She gave many of her pieces away to friends and family.  Barbara loved nature, animals, and working in her beautiful garden. She grew morning glories that crept up the side of the house into the windows and 13-foot sunflowers. She had many beloved pets, and she passed her love of animals down to her children. Her love of nature beckoned her to long walks in the woods, to waterfalls and fields, and her beloved Effley.

There is too much of Barbara to share in these few words. In addition to what we have mentioned, she was a secretary at Carthage Chamber of Commerce; involved in Carthage Little Theater and Watertown Lyric Theater; and played and marched with the Camden Continental Fife and Drum.

She is survived by her husband Alan L. Flynn, who never left her side during her battle with cancer. She is also survived by her two children, Adam C. Flynn and Bethany L. (Flynn) Bryant, her grandson, Flynn J. Bryant; son-in-law Micheal A. Bryant; her sister Anne (Bingle) Eckelman and her husband; sister Mary (Bingle) Wolf and her husband; brother Carl Bingle and his wife; sister Beth (Bingle) Snider; and many nieces and nephews.

Barbara was predeceased by her mother and father; sister June (Bingle) Haugen; half-brother David Wisner; brother-in-law Chuck Haugen; brother-in-law Terry Snider; and sister-in-law Marsha Flynn.

Calling hours will be held on Friday, December 8, 2023, from 5:00 pm-8:30 pm at the Lundy Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Inc., 500 State St., Carthage.  A Funeral Service will be held at the First Baptist Church, 511 State St., Carthage on Saturday, December 9, 2023, at 10:00 AM.  She will be buried in the Sunnyside Cemetery, Naumburg in the spring.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to the Emmanuel Congregational Church, 119 S. Hamilton St., Watertown, the West Carthage Fire Department, 61 High St., Carthage, or the Walker Cancer Center, 830 Washington St., Watertown.

To leave a message of sympathy for Barbara’s family please visit www.lundyfuneralhome.com and sign the tribute wall.