Avellino Lynk

Avellino “Ave” Lynk, age 89, of Coralville, Iowa and formerly of the Tama/Marshall County area, passed away peacefully surrounded by her daughters in the comfort of her daughter’s home in Grinnell, Iowa on May 16, 2025.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held for Ave on Thursday, May 22, 2025 beginning at 10:30 A.M. at St. Francis of Assisi Parish: St Henry Church. A visitation for family and friends will be held one hour prior to Mass. In lieu of flowers, memorials in Ave’s name may be directed to the family for a later designation. For additional information or to send a condolence to the family, please visit www.mitchellfh.com or call 641-844-1234.

Avellino Rose Oetker was born August 5, 1935 in Marshalltown, Iowa. She was one of eight children born to Frank and Francis (Trannel) Oetker. Ave grew up in Haverhill, Iowa for a large portion of her early years. She and her family briefly moved to California in her early high school years but returned home to Iowa where she would graduate from St. Mary High School in 1953.

Out of high school, Ave began working for Marshall Manufacturing in Marshalltown, Iowa. She was united in marriage to Richard Lynk. Together they made their home in Le Grand and raised three children, Doug, Karen and Pam. She continued working for Marshall Manufacturing for many years. Richard passed away at an early age and Ave met Frank Wilson. They were united in marriage and moved to Coralville, Iowa where Ave spent the last 20 years. From their union, Ave gained two additional children, Rosie and Skip, whom she welcomed with open arms. Ave and Frank would later in life divorce but remained very close companions to one another. She took up a job at the University of Iowa in their laundry department over the last 10 years.

In her free time, she always remained busy in her schedule. She was a member of the Eagles in Tama, Iowa as well as St. Thomas Moore Catholic Church in Coralville, Iowa. In her free time her favorite thing by far was to spend time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She gained an interest for Iowa Woman’s Basketball after moving to Coralville. In younger years there were many memories of making Christmas cookies and candies around the holidays and going camping in the summers. She enjoyed crocheting all of her life and in later years got into doing ceramic projects.

Those left to remember and cherish her memory are her children, Karen (Duane) Watters, Pam (Jeff) Metz and step children, Rosie (Jerry) Sprague and Skip (Chris) Wilson; grandchildren, Nicholas (Kaylie Kuhn) Lynk, Emmy (Neal) Hall, Chelsea Commer, Anna (Shawn) Rhinehart Kelly (Becca) Metz; great-grandchildren, Rhyatt and Wilder Lynk, Kyle and Shylee Kuhn, Cayden, Gracie, Skylar, and Hannah Shook, Brycen Sjaadema, Jacoby Watters, Brentyn and Preston Conner, Anthony, Penelope, Avery and Henry Metz, and Gayle and Mae Rhinehart; her sister, Pat Wilkening alongside numerous loved family members.

She is preceded in death by her first husband, Richard Lynk; her son, Doug Lynk; granddaughter, Jessica Metz; parents, Frank and Francis Oetker; and her siblings, Dorothy, Cletus, Monica, Agnes, Mick and Omar as well as her brothers and sisters-in-law.