Mary Flynn was born in Limerick Ireland. Her family emigrated to Canada when she was two years old, settling in Oakville, Ontario. The family name O'Flynn (O'Floinn) was changed to Flynn when the young family moved to Canada.

Mary believes that there is a bit of the leprechaun in her, which explains her small stature, lively spirit and quick Irish wit. It is no coincidence that she has kissed the Blarney Stone twice in her lifetime.

After graduating from the University of Guelph with a bachelor of arts degree in English, Mary attended Lakeshore Teacher's College and obtained her B.Ed. in 1972. She began a teaching career that has lasted to the present day.

Retiring from formal teaching duties in September 2000, she has been fortunate to be able to foster her love of children by working as a private tutor. Mary is quick to point out that she took an early retirement from teaching, managing to get out with most of her sanity still intact - a fact which her family and friends readily dispute. 
She will be receiving her DRP (Drastically Reduced Pension) some time in the next few years.

Over the course of her career, at Teacher Retirements or at end-of-the-year gatherings honoring colleagues who were transferring or leaving, Mary has always been "the entertainer". 
She is the person to create that "special tribute", writing the lyrics to a song or poem and gathering a group of co-conspirators to present the material in song or verse. A master of manipulating photos using computer software, she has taken many a colleague's less than desirable school photo and transformed it into a treasured keepsake on display for all to see.

These festive "Teacher Roasts" became a tradition at her school and throughout the School Board in which she taught. It was a colleague who pointed out the need for this type of service for any staff requiring tribute material for a colleague. 
Mary has been called a straight-shooter.

She claims that she has been making people laugh all her life and that occasionally she is even funny. She has written more than 325 poems and songs for various occasions. Principals, vice-principals, custodians, teachers, superintendents, members of the clergy, nurses, business professionals and just "regular" people in all walks of life, have experienced the charm of her gentle humor presented through song and verse. Helping people to laugh at themselves has always been her goal and "nudging them"  them towards that end is what she attempts to accomplish with her poems. 
As a result, her Web Sites, Poems 4 Teachers, Personalized Poems, Personalized Wedding Speeches  
and Character Kids were created. 

Songs 4 Teachers, Mary's original Web Site, has been in existence for 10 years.