Mary Ann Bruchac Lynch passed away peacefully at her home in Greenfield Center surrounded by her family and her many artistic creations.

Mary Ann was a prolific photographer, writer, editor, producer, lecturer, educator and director who toured the globe in search of new visions. She displayed her work in numerous venues including: The University of Hawaii- Honolulu, Hi, Lyman Museum - Hilo, HI, John Stevenson Gallery - NYC, SOHO Photo Gallery - NYC, Friends of Photography, International Festival of Women Artists - Copenhagen, International Center for Photography NYC, Honolulu Academy of Arts, Shomburg Center, NYC, Photogroup Fakt - Czech Republic, and Galerie Lichtblick - Cologne, Germany. Her work in the visual media also included several films: Lynn Lifshin

- Not Made of Glass, Ed Sanders & The Singing Quilting Frame, Waging Peace, The Dive, Kohala Una Pa'a and A Samoan Family in Waianea among many others. Mary Ann received numerous awards including: The National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, National Defense Endowment Act, Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, The City and County of Honolulu, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Saratoga Arts Council, National Science Foundation, Helena Rubenstein, Chicago Film Festival, Kodak International Pathe, and numerous Lucie Awards - an annual event honoring achievements in photography.

A product of the Saratoga Springs public school system, Mary Ann attended a number of different elementary schools and graduated as Salutatorian in the Class of 1962 of Saratoga Springs High School. She continued her education at Cornell University with a B.A. in English, Magna Cum Laude. Upon graduation she and Jack Lynch were married and moved cross country to Berkeley, California and the University of California for her Masters of Arts in English with Honors. After Berkeley, Mary Ann & Jack moved to Hawaii where Mary Ann had accepted an offer to teach at the University of Hawaii - Manoa. This interview process and acceptance tells

a great deal about Mary Ann. During the interview process, she excused herself to put money in the parking meter which she assumed doomed her prospects. Around a month later as she returned from a weekend skiing trip to the Sierras, the phone rang as she entered the apartment at 2am. The University Of Hawaii English Department was on the line and offered her a job teaching at the University. When asked if she accepted she stated that she could not until her husband was accepted as a student. 'When did he apply?" she was asked. Mary Ann replied, "He hasn't yet." The University overnighted an application and the application was sped back and within 3 days Jack was accepted and Mary Ann embraced the opportunity to teach at the University of Hawaii.

Hawaii is where her artistic vision blossomed. She photographed throughout Hawaii, but was primarily concentrating on the Kalapana area of the Big Island. She quickly established a rapport with many of the Hawaiian families in this ancient Hawaiian village, where people spoke Hawaiian, living subsistence-style-- until the Kilauea Volcano's 1990 eruptions buried the region. This was the basis for a lifetime of work in Kalapana as she spent much time there from 1970 through 2003. In 2003, 500 people crowded the Lyman Museum for her retrospective - Kalapana, The Last Hawaiian Place. The Hawaiians who welcomed Mary Ann in the 1970s wanted their way of life passed on. The 1970's was the era of the Hawaiian Artistic Renaissance where Hawaiian Culture and the Arts flourished. During this period Mary Ann was one of the founders of the influential Image Foundation and one of the founders and the Director of the Hawaii Film Board. Both of these entities assisted in the development of film and photography in the islands and helped establish local photographers on the world stage.

Several years after the birth of Margot Malia and Zachary Joseph, Mary Ann and Jack moved back to her hometown of Greenfield Center where she quickly settled in and started publishing Combinations: A Journal of Photography which included photographs and writings by many major photographers. She also ran for public office and was later hired as Director of Communications for James Larocca of the NYS Energy Research and Development Corporation (ERDA). Her interest in film prompted her to get a MFA in Film from New York University. Upon completion of her degree she established a studio in NYC which she maintained until 2009. During this time she did major editing for MacMillan Publishing, Dorling Kindersly - both in NYC and London, and National Geographic. She wrote numerous articles for national & international photographic publications on many of the most popular photographers of the time including: Lucien Clergue, Ralph Gibson, Duane Michaels, Robert Heinecken, Bruce Davidson, and Paul Caponigro. Her photography and writing opportunities took her around the world including three trips to Egypt, as well as to the Country of Georgia, Estonia, France, England, Ireland, Mexico, Equador and Turkey. In 2009 Mary Ann decided to move full-time to her home base of Greenfield Center where she continued to photograph and write and stated "I am not retiring".

Mary Ann was predeceased by her parents Joseph Bruchac - The Adirondack Taxidermist and Marion Bruchac and is survived by her husband Jack Lynch and children Margot Malia Lynch Steiner (Michael) and Zachary Joseph Lynch all of Greenfield Center, NY and of course her favorite Uno opponent, her granddaughter Cora Mae Lynch and her brother Joseph Bruchac and numerous cousins, neighbors, friends and artists.

The family will announce a time for the celebration of Mary Ann's life later this year. The family gives thanks for the care she was given by Community Hospice, especially Steve.

Arrangements are under the direction of the William J. Burke & Sons/ Bussing & Cunniff Funeral Home, 628 N. Broadway, Saratoga springs, NY 12866.

Online remembrances may be made at www.burkefuneralhome.com.