A Life of Teaching
The Phil and Jean Wynn College of Education carries forward a family’s commitment to faith, education, and generations of learners.
Loma Jean Wynn’s first experience with education was at the R-Bar school near the community where she grew up. Almost a century later, the 1946 Coahoma High School graduate remains a beloved member of the community, where friends, family, former students, and educators gathered on July 10 to celebrate her life and legacy. During the special reception, Lubbock Christian University surprised Wynn with the announcement that its College of Education would be named the Phil and Jean Wynn College of Education, honoring her and her late husband, Phil, and the educational commitment they built together
“My first taste of education was at the R-Bar school,” Wynn said as she reflected on her early years. “I’m thankful for those who cared for us and helped us get home because we didn’t have a car. I’m so grateful to be with all of you here – educators from LCU, Coahoma, Big Spring and the surrounding communities. I thank you for educating others, and I know other people do, too.”
For Wynn, the honor represented much more than the recognition of a longtime educator. It reflected a family commitment to education that began with her own parents, continued throughout her career and has now reached generations of Wynn descendants. More than 44 members of the extended Wynn family – Wynns, Bests, Buchanans, and Burks – have dedicated their lives to education as teachers, coaches, counselors, principals, and educational leaders, carrying forward a belief that education can transform lives and strengthen communities.
Wynn’s daughter, Phyllis Best, said that commitment was instilled in her mother from an early age. When Jean Wynn once considered leaving school to return home and help her family, her father encouraged her to continue her education. “My Pop-Pop believed in education,” Best said. “Mother went to school, and she decided she wanted to come home. She felt like she needed to come home and help work. And he said, ‘No, you need to stay in school and get your education.’ So, they were believers in education, and it’s just continued on in the family.”
Phil and Jean Wynn ultimately earned three master’s degrees between them, with Jean completing her education over a 12-year period after their marriage. Their commitment to learning was accompanied by a deep commitment to Christian faith and to sharing that faith with others. Through their lives and service, they demonstrated that education was not simply a profession, but an opportunity to influence lives through knowledge, character, faith, and service.
That same philosophy shaped the family’s relationship with LCU. The Wynns’ commitment to LCU dates back to the 1970s, when Phil and Jean began making regular gifts to the university through a monthly bank draft that continues today. What began as a small, ongoing contribution continued for decades and reflected their lifelong commitment to education and specifically Christ-centered education. Their children along with their spouses, Marvin and Eloise (Woods, ’74) Wynn and Phyllis and Tommy Best, have carried that commitment forward, giving to LCU to honor their parents’ commitment to preparing educators and sharing their faith. Their giving began with scholarships, followed by an endowed chair in the College of Education and ultimately the naming of the Phil and Jean Wynn College of Education.
“We started this journey because we wanted to honor our parents,” Best said. “We started with an (endowed) chair in the College of Education at LCU. Then it was scholarships, and then this evolved. So, the legacy continues.”
In 2024, the family established the Best-Buchanan-Wynn Endowed Chair of Education, awarded to Dr. Sam Ayers, further strengthening LCU’s commitment to preparing future educators. The naming of the college now provides a permanent expression of the family’s gratitude for the example Phil and Jean established and their belief in the importance of Christian education.
That legacy was highlighted by several individuals who spoke at the reception when the newly named college was announced. Dr. David Boyer, Dean of the Wynn College of Education, noted that those gathered represented only a small portion of the people Wynn has influenced throughout her life. “There wasn’t a single person in this room who didn’t stand to acknowledge that you had a significant impact on their life,” Boyer said. “And you take this crowd of people, and you multiply that by hundreds and even thousands over your lifetime. You’ve done it through education, and through your church, and through love. You have done it through loving people and in everything that you do.”
A video tribute shown during the celebration further illustrates the breadth of Wynn’s influence. Speaking to Mrs. Wynn through the video, her great-grandson and current LCU student Coby Best, a longtime colleague, and former students reflected on the impact she has had throughout her life and career. They remembered her as an educator who genuinely loved and respected her students, encouraged them to do their best, and invested in their lives beyond the classroom. They also spoke of her faith, generosity, positivity, and the example she continues to set for those around her.
Former student Marray Maddox, Coahoma High School Class of 1988, remembered Wynn as an encouraging and patient teacher who made an investment in her students that extended beyond their studies. “It was more than just studying and learning about different subjects,” Maddox said. “You really invested in young people.”
Longtime colleague Lou Dull King recalled Wynn as an educator through and through who never missed a game or school event involving the students she taught. King also remembered how both Jean and Phil shared their faith with her, taking her to church and talking with her about Jesus. Their influence, King said, was rooted not only in what they taught but in the way they lived.
LCU President Scott McDowell said that the combination of education and faith represents the heart of Wynn’s legacy. “For decades, Jean has represented the very heart of what Christian education should be,” he said. “She has shown us what teaching really is, that teaching is more than delivering content. It is a calling. It is ministry.”
The College of Education that now bears the Wynn name has its own long history of preparing educators to serve others. Originally established as a single academic department in the early 1960s, the college has grown into one of LCU’s premier academic colleges, preparing thousands of teachers, coaches, counselors, principals, and other educational leaders to serve communities throughout Texas and beyond. For the past several years, 100 percent of its graduates have secured employment in education, and one-fourth of school administrators in Texas Education Region 17 hold an LCU degree.
The impact of the college, like the impact of Jean Wynn, reaches well beyond the classroom. Each future teacher prepared at LCU has the opportunity to influence students, families, and communities, continuing the kind of work Wynn has devoted her life to.
“For every future teacher who walks through our doors, for every student who is inspired and prepared in our classrooms, and for every child whose life will one day be touched by an LCU-trained educator, the Wynn name will serve as a reminder of what faithful teaching can do,” McDowell said.
After the announcement, Wynn offered her own encouragement to the educators gathered in her hometown. “It seems like I’ve been in school ever since I started as a child,” she said. “Thank all of you for your participation. Just keep pushing those kids and learning and doing what you know you should.”
It was a fitting message from a woman whose own journey began in a small rural school and whose influence has continued through generations of students, educators, and family members. The Phil and Jean Wynn College of Education now carries her name and Phil’s as a lasting tribute to their shared commitment to faith, education, and service, while providing a reminder that the greatest legacy of an educator is found in the lives changed by a faithful investment in others.