AIKEN — Friends and family of the late Lynne Katonak are sharing stories in remembrance of the longtime Aiken Standard employee who known for a variety of roles around the community, including being part of a marriage that lasted for 72 years.

Katonak, who died Aug. 22 at age 92, moved from Ohio to Aiken in 1956 with her husband, Paul, who died July 17 at age 91. A Facebook account from the family noted that the couple “started both the Aiken Running Club and Aiken Bicycle Club, and spent every minute they could together.” They were married in 1954.

“Lynne and Paul were always on the go,” said Kelly Greene Lynn, one of Lynne Katonak’s longtime co-workers at the newspaper.

“I’d see them around town, whether it was walking downtown, at a concert at Hopelands, at an event at the museum, or just shopping. They were always together,” she said.

“When I was in eighth grade at Jefferson Junior High School in Bath in the late 1970s, I won the Aiken County Spelling Bee held at the Aiken Standard office. Lynne Katonak wrote a story about me for the newspaper. In ninth grade, still at Jefferson, I won a statewide poetry contest sponsored by the South Carolina Wildlife Federation. Lynne wrote another story about me then.”

Lynn added, “After I graduated college, I started my first job as a reporter at the Aiken Standard in 1987. Lynne was still working there, and she became a coworker and a friend.”

A summary from the Katonak family noted that the Aiken household, established in the late 1950s, grew to include three children, including a mom who was an Aiken County Historical Museum volunteer and “went back to college to get her degree after raising children.” Favorite pursuits include riding bicycles, traveling and running.