Obituary of Lynne Spence Kostka

Lynne Spence Kostka, 76, of Kingston, Massachusetts, passed away on January 31 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.

Lynne was born on December 1, 1947 to Harold Spence and Mary (Major) Jewett in Nashua, New Hampshire. She spent most of her childhood in Lowell, Massachusetts and attended Keith Hall, where she graduated in 1965. After high school, she attended Middlesex Community College and worked for MITRE in Bedford. 

Lynne returned to college, attending Salem State, and after graduating in 1972 with a bachelor’s degree in business education, she taught at Dracut High School, Plymouth Carver High School and West Bridgewater High School. In 1973, she met Robert Kostka; they have been married since 1975 and have two children, Andrew and Allison. 

Lynne left teaching in 1983 to be a full-time mom to her children but later returned to teach at Hingham Middle School and then Hingham High School. In 2008, she received a master’s degree in Instructional Technology from Bridgewater State College. She retired from teaching in 2012.

Lynne loved sewing, reading, animals (especially elephants), travel, listening to music on her back porch, hot air balloons and most of all, spending time with her family. She was also an active member of the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church in Kingston.

Lynne was predeceased by her parents, Harold and Mary; her stepmother, Rose Spence; and her brothers David Spence and Michael McFarland. She is survived by her husband, Robert Kostka, of Kingston; son, Andrew Kostka, and his wife, Sunny, of Kingston; daughter, Allison Kostka, of Melrose; sister Nancy Duffy, of Nashua, NH; sister Sharon Prevett and her husband Norm, of Hudson, NH; brother Joseph Spence and his wife Katherine, of Windham, NH; and many nieces and nephews.

Services will be held at First Parish Church in Kingston, 223 Main Street, on February 17 at 11:00 am, with a reception to follow at the Beal House across the street. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that donations be made in Lynne’s name to the Alzheimer's Association: http://act.alz.org/goto/lynne_kostka.