8/27/22 – 5/1/14
Marine aviator’s wings tattooed on his chest, perhaps the best definition of Kirt Flynn. Or maybe only the outward symbol of the layers of a complete man.
The son of Kirt, Sr. and Jane Miller Flynn, he grew up in the wilds of East Orange, N.J., with his sister Shorty, pet dogs, pet squirrels and one baby alligator. Ma Jane was a singer and storyteller in the early days of radio,  and a devout Christian Scientist. Pop was a chemical engineer who had plied his trade in the Army in WW I. This juxtaposition of art and logical stoicism produced a son who possessed an equal love of the beauty of math and accounting, and the theater, in the audience and on stage. A graduate of Colgate University, he would wow us kids with the yearbook’s Humor Club photo, a dapper underclassman standing with upperclassman Andy Rooney.
A member of “the Greatest Generation” he served as a U.S. Marine pilot in the Pacific where he met his first true love – the F4U Corsair. The tattoo was one of the few reminders of his military career; that, and teaching us all the game Acey-Deucy, the Marine version of Backgammon. As proud as he was of his service he never regaled us with tales of war. His reason: “I went so hopefully you wouldn’t have to.”
He was preceded in death by his devoted wife and partner of 54 years, Jane Andrews Flynn, his daughter Gail Miller Flynn and his sister Janee “Shorty” Daniele. He is survived by his wife Anne B. Flynn of Stokesdale, N.C., his daughter Patricia Moore of Bangkok, Thailand, son James Flynn and his wife Donna of Charlotte, grandsons Ian and his wife Aleah, Seth and his fiancée Patrice and Ross.
As a Marine veteran, he taught and demanded discipline, order and loyalty. As a father and husband, he offered the same loyalty to his family and friends, blending it with humor, a love of words and music… and the most wicked Acey-Deucy game this side of the Pacific.
Details on a Masonic Memorial Service are incomplete. Interment will be at Tryon Presbyterian Church in Tryon, N.C. In lieu of flowers, Dad requests that gifts be given to the Shriners’ Hospitals for Children, 604 Doug Mayes Place, Charlotte  N.C.  28262-8410.