Little Theater soon to be renamed in honor of former forensics, drama advisor Tom Lynch

Former English teacher, forensics coach, and drama advisor  Tom Lynch will soon be honored through the renaming of West’s Little Theater. The dedication, which was approved by a unanimous school board vote, will take place between 1pm and 3pm on May 10. The newly renamed Tom Lynch Little Theater will continue to be the practicing home for the forensics and drama groups, the instructor’s pride and joy.

During Lynch’s 37 years as a teacher, the vast majority of which were also spent as the coach for forensics and drama, he was incredibly successful, winning 17 consecutive Team State Excellence Awards for forensics and winning the highest honor, Critic’s Choice, in his One Act plays eight times. 

Tom Lynch, however, cannot be defined by his objective successes, but rather the impact he had on his students. Scotti Thurwatcher, one of Lynch’s former students and an English teacher at West, can attest to this.

 “As a community, as West, he has impacted so many people,” he said. 

Thurwatcher will never forget the impact Lynch has had, and how it shaped him to be the teacher and coach he is today.

“I wanted to be the next Mr. Lynch,” he said. “If I could impact one young person in the way he impacted me, I will have paid it back.” 

It is this teaching style that earned Lynch the USA Today’s teacher of the year award, which is still on display outside the Little Theater. On that plaque, Lynch describes his approach to teaching and coaching in his own words. 

“One of my philosophies is that you teach the way you wish you had been taught,” he said.  

It is this approach that made him so approachable to students and teachers alike. David Lynch, Tom Lynch’s son, was the first to push for the name change. 

“Whoever interacted with him, whether it was a teacher or a janitor or a student, he made them feel like they were the most important person in the world,” he said. 

Thurwatcher echoes this in a personal anecdote of his very first day at West. 

“When I came here to this school on orientation day, I was a brand new freshman. I didn’t know anyone,” he said. “I went down to his room, stood in the doorway and he patted the chair by his desk. At that moment, I felt so welcome and comforted and safe. At that moment, I knew I was exactly where I needed to be.” 

David Lynch describes the feeling of being in his father’s room similarly.

“He treated everyone alike; everybody that came in the room was welcome,” he said.  

Lynch’s extension of warmth to his students and dedication to their needs was displayed through his rewriting of plays. David Lynch said that he would notoriously split roles, usually played by one person, into multiple roles that would never repeat. 

“He wanted each student to be able to say they were the only one who ever played that role at Oshkosh West,” he said. 

According to David Lynch, it all comes down to his father’s fundamental belief in all of teaching and coaching. 

“The kids always come first,” he said.  

David Lynch stated that his father always wanted students to be comfortable. 

“You can’t make kids confident giving a speech if they are not comfortable with the person grading them.” 

Though Tom Lynch’s exact impact is impossible to measure in words or dedication, the district decided he should gain recognition for the work he put in. Throughout his years, he never missed a single day of work, staying from early in the morning until late at night, holding rehearsals and emceeing basketball games. David Lynch, who presented the school board with the proposal to change the name, recognizes this.

“You got to put the hours in and work hard,” he said. “Having the theatrical classroom named after him keeps his legacy longer than just the years he taught.” 

Renaming the theater is not only a landmark decision for its significance amongst teachers and students, but, as David Lynch notes, breaks the previous precedent of naming things posthumously. 

“Oshkosh policy has been that you don’t name things after people that are still living, so this is a slight change where they have decided,” he said. “Let's honor people while they’re still around.” 

Tom Lynch is thrilled, though the proposal for the dedication was originally done without his knowledge. 

“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “It’s part of the legacy of all those stories that started in that theater.”

David Lynch believes that it is important to recognize that the stories and students that helped make them are what’s being immortalized, not just Lynch in name. 

“His legacy has always been his students.” 

Thurwatcher recognizes the significance of the change, but hopes that there is more to come.

“It’s a nice gesture to celebrate his greatness and impact, but you could never do something big enough,” he said. “We owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Lynch and what he started here.”

by Isaac Considine-Buelow

Published April 28th, 2025

Oshkosh West Index Volume 121 Issue VII