Bundaberg lawyer Ricky Lynch dies after cancer battle, hosted own wake before passing

A respected Queensland lawyer, former police officer and legal educator made headlines for throwing his own wake. 

A former police officer turned lawyer, Ricky Lynch spent decades serving the community through law enforcement, legal defence, education and volunteer work.

Lawyer, larrikin, and loyal mate, Ricky John Lynch spent his life standing up for others, and even in death he brought people together in a way only he could.

The well-known Bundaberg solicitor died on June 23, 2025, aged 50, after a battle with metastatic adenocarcinoma — a stage 4 cancer that had spread beyond the bowel. He was surrounded by family.

Ricky’s career in service spanned almost three decades, starting in the SES and police force before he became a lawyer known for defending the vulnerable and challenging injustice.

As his Facebook bio simply read: “Law without justice is ‘CANCER,’ without a cure. RJL.”

Friends say Ricky lived by that line.

“Ricky has given so very much to this community,” a GoFundMe page stated.

A former police officer turned lawyer, Ricky Lynch spent decades serving the community through law enforcement, legal defence, education and volunteer work.

 
“From being a member of the SES to his time as a police officer and now a lawyer … he really has spent his time trying to do good.”

But it wasn’t just what he did — it was how he made people feel.

“Ricky always makes others laugh and smile,” the fundraiser read. “And I think we could all help him remain smiling through the hardest time of his life.”

Diagnosed in March this year, Ricky faced the terminal news in his own bold way — by throwing his own wake while he could still enjoy it.

“Why should I not get to enjoy my own wake?” he posted.

“Who knows what time I have left so let’s get this done whilst I still can and am not too sick or gone.”

Held on May 3 at the Metro Hotel, Ricky’s “pre-funeral” featured karaoke, pizza, and a toast using rare Bundaberg Rum bottles from his personal stash.

“There are also 70 ‘FREE’ tickets for single ‘Shots’ of Bundaberg Rum as toasts,” he told friends.

“Your choice of, Rare, numbered bottles to be cracked on the night.”

He even joked: “Think I may be restricted to a wheelchair so it will be sit down comedy, Boom Boom,” and teased that his old hairdresser might come out of retirement for a final trim — “Viking look?”

That dark humour, wrapped in raw honesty, was Ricky to a tee.

A former police officer turned lawyer, Ricky Lynch spent decades serving the community through law enforcement, legal defence, education and volunteer work.

As his illness progressed, he closed his practice — Lynch Legal — and his friends launched the GoFundMe to ease the financial pressure and help cover funeral costs.

“With obviously no cure Ricky’s time left is much shorter than hoped for,” the post read.

“It’s always the good ones who get taken from us and in this case it’s our beautiful friend Ricky who … will not go without a fight.”

Ricky held an Unrestricted Principal Practising Certificate, a Master of Laws majoring in Family Law, and was awarded a Graduate Fellowship from the College of Law. Before becoming a solicitor, he served nearly 20 years in the NSW and Queensland Police, receiving multiple service awards and citations.

He was also a trainer, educator and Legal Aid preferred supplier — and fiercely proud of his Bundaberg roots.

He is survived by his children Rhianna, Jaimeson and Jacob, his mother Karen, his grandparents Audrey and Bill (dec’d) Howard, and his siblings and extended family. He was described simply by loved ones as: “Forever in our hearts.”

Ricky Lynch’s final case before his passing was defending Sean Eamon Ryan, a 57-year-old lawyer from Bargara, who faced serious charges related to an alleged smuggling operation.
Ryan was accused of assisting Sayet Erhan Akca, a suspected terror plot mastermind, in fleeing Australia to Phuket, Thailand, in September 2023. Akca had previously jumped bail on drug charges in New South Wales

Relatives and friends of Ricky and his family are respectfully invited to attend his Funeral Service to be held in The Chapel, ‘Branyan Gardens’, Cummins Road, Branyan on Wednesday, July 2nd, 2025 commencing at 11:30am, prior to a private interment at the Bundaberg Lawn Cemetery.

Originally published as Bundaberg lawyer Ricky Lynch dies after cancer battle, hosted own wake before passing